A Study on the Influence of American Popular Culture on Contemporary Youth Consumption Patterns

Abstract

All elements from popular culture, and their wide-ranging impact, are encountered in a multitude of ways by youth today. These influences have impact on how youth develop meaningful relationships with products or consumers in relation to youth's value orientations and presentation of the products or consumers. This study addresses the specific impact American popular culture has on youth's consumptive behaviour through the acts of symbolic consumption, lifestyle choices, and value internalisation, and provides a balanced view between rational evaluation and objective analysis of youth's consumption-based attitudes. The motivation behind youth's consumption-based attitude carries heavily into how they are directed toward developing healthy and rational methods of consumption based on their cultural behaviours and attitudes.