Social/ Peer pressure to choose or avoid brands

[eyoungren]

My current truck actually did cost more than my first townhouse.

I never made that connection until just now. LOL.

And over the summer when diesel was close to $6, filling did cost more than my first car payment was.

Maybe I'm just old.

My wife and I are in our fifth year of house payments. At this point in time, the bills are being paid, but there's not much left over to eat. A lot of stuff that's been sitting in the freezer and pantry for quite some time is being consumed now.

However, as we have both reasoned - considering the market right now for housing, we'd both rather be paying what we pay for our mortgage/escrow account than paying rent. For what we'd be paying in rent, we could probably only afford half a house.

It's very odd now too. We lived as renters for 20+ years and everyone on our street was a homeowner. I can count on one hand right now the number of homes that are owned by homeowners. Everything else on our street, in our community is all corporate owned rental homes. And the house on our left has two or three groups of people living there just to make one monthly rent payment.

It's crazy right now.

 

[Analog Kid]

My wife has her own thing as well. Unless she REALLY likes something she will flat out refuse to buy any product that comes with branding. As she's told me before, she is not being paid to serve as a walking billboard advertisement for X company.

OMG, this. A thousand times, this. What is it, Gucci?, where the entire textile pattern is just their logo over and over? I can not get my head around why that's a thing...

And those ****ing nipple alligators? Thankfully can't think of what brand that is either... I guess those little Apple stickers you get in every box are supposed to do the same thing-- you get to put them places that people won't see you have an Apple computer and phone so they still know you're an Apple person. Nope.

That's not to say I don't buy and wear things that I think express who I am. I just don't try to buy things that express who other people would like me to be.

 

[eyoungren]

OMG, this. A thousand times, this. What is it, Gucci?, where the entire textile pattern is just their logo over and over? I can not get my head around why that's a thing...

My wife introduced me to coffee when we started dating. That was the mid-90s when Starbucks was just beginning to get big. Back when the baristas had way more time to have holier-than-thou attitudes.

The coffee was good then, good enough and exclusive enough (meaning very few competitors) to warrant me buying a shirt. But my wife absolutely refused, although she did like some mugs well enough.

She has a bunch of purses, none of them name-brand, but just stuff that caught her interest.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Come what may, I don’t allow peer pressure to dictate what I do.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

No. I don’t really care what others think. It’s my opinion that matters. I don’t have the sort of people in my life.
Haven’t got the time for it.

My position is somewhat similar to yours.

However, I do wonder whether the sort of social/peer pressure in the question posed by the OP is less pronounced in the UK, Ireland, and western Europe in general, than is the case in the US.

 

[NoBoMac]

“Safeway" : Supermarket. Merged with Albertsons some years back. […] Expensive, we don't shop there much.

Will generally agree with the expensive comment, I have noticed of late that they have had better sales prices and some items in general cheaper than Kroger (eg. six pack of bagels at Safeway is $1 lower than Kroger). Hopefully the Kroger/Albertsons merger will be denied as that would really limit affordable options (competition) by me (post merge Kroger, Whole Foods, Sprouts).

 

[cthompson94]

I used to growing up and into early adulthood, but now (I am still young) I just don't care anymore I do/buy/wear what I want. Now as far as "peer pressure" goes, only in the sense of someone I know saying they really enjoy xyz but doesn't make it a sales pitch. For instance, I got introduced to a shoe for lifting weights from a friend who really liked them as I was just using Converses and always did not like how then they were, but they were good price and flat. The shoe I was introduced to is flat, but has a harder exterior than just the flimsy fabric of the Converses and came in high tops for good ankle support so in this instance I am not sure if it quite qualifies as "peer pressure" but few instances like this where it has an actual benefit to/for me, but if it was basically the same thing as the Converses I wore before then I wouldn't have bought them.

 

[Jessica Lares]

My position is somewhat similar to yours.

However, I do wonder whether the sort of social/peer pressure in the question posed by the OP is less pronoucned in the UK, Ireland, and western Europe in general, than is the case in the US.

I would go one step further and say it's a white, middle-class American issue aswell.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I would go one step further and say it's a white, middle-class American issue aswell.

Well, yes, I agree with you, and that is exactly what I had wondered about, but I hadn't wished to express it quite so emphatically.

 

[eyoungren]

I would go one step further and say it's a white, middle-class American issue aswell.

Well, yes, I agree with you, and that is exactly what I had wondered about, but I hadn't wished to express it quite so emphatically.

Possibly. I will just state that my wife is Mexican-American and was born in East Los Angeles. She attended the LA school system during the 1970s. There were cliques in her schools, all of whom she ignored.

It might be that you guys are right, but it does exist in other cultures here in the US.

 

[TechRunner]

I was told when I was young that the older I got, the less I would care what people thought. And in my 50s, that has come true in a big way. I could bore you with examples, but as others have said, I make the choices that work for me. Especially given that I'm the one paying for them.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Possibly. I will just state that my wife is Mexican-American and was born in East Los Angeles. She attended the LA school system during the 1970s. There were cliques in her schools, all of whom she ignored.

It might be that you guys are right, but it does exist in other cultures here in the US.

Oh, agree completely that it does exist in other cultures in the US; it is just that I suspect that it may be more pronounced in white, middle-class culture in the US.

I was told when I was young that the older I got, the less I would care what people thought. And in my 50s, that has come true in a big way. I could bore you with examples, but as others have said, I make the choices that work for me. Especially given that I'm the one paying for them.

This is also very relevant, and is an excellent point; quite often, as you age (become more mature) you develop greater self-confidence and self-reliance, - you become more comfortable in your own skin, and more confident in your own judgment - and are a lot less bothered by stuff such as peer group pressure.

 

[eyoungren]

Oh, agree completely that it does exist in other cultures in the US; it is just that I suspect that it may be more pronounced in white, middle-class culture in the US.

I'm just not so certain of that, although as a white male American of Swedish descent I may have a limited view. Latino culture, of which I have some limited exposure to because of my wife, has it's own pressures. To be female and a Latina there are expectations and the pressure to meet those expectations is very real. My mother-in-law, in large part, gave the middle finger to those expectations and my wife is very much her daughter in that way.

 

[Jessica Lares]

We're talking about social pressure to choose brands though, and as an adult.

I'm Mexican-American too, my parents came here in the 80's. So I'm basing it on my everyday experience and knowing how the Americans we know differ. Being in Texas and the fact that I'm first generation, and that's more likely to be the case with everyone I know, probably plays into it though.

 

[MarkC426]

It mean more positive as in hey you know android has this cool feature where I can take a picture of stars

Personally I feel Android is awful and the latest S.... phone having a 2zillion pixel camera bothers me not. I swayed to the dark side many years back (after being the first/only person at the office with an iPhone for a couple of years before everyone changed their Nokias to Apple), to test the water (I prefer to be unique than follow the crowd), and just couldn't stand the OS/UI. I really felt it was completely non-secure. I learnt my lesson quickly...😁

The SAD thing is all phone manufacturers 100% dedicate their marketing to 'the camera'....which is BS.

 

[poorcody]

I've always been fascinated by the phenomenon that when someone wins the lottery, bankruptcies in their neighborhood increase, presumably because people want to buy the same things their rich neighbor has, even when they can't afford it.

https://www.vox.com/2016/2/23/11095102/inequality-lottery-bankruptcy-study

 

[Madhatter32]

I would go one step further and say it's a white, middle-class American issue aswell.

This is a wrong take -- not to mention racist. Brands are very powerful in the American black community -- and has been for many decades. Brand awareness is a very powerful force in many Asian countries as well. China is the leading market for luxury Swiss watches and other luxury brands like Birkin bags and Gucci. In fact, this is a worldwide phenomenon and thinking it is relegated to one community or people is absurd.

 

[eyoungren]

We're talking about social pressure to choose brands though, and as an adult.

I'm Mexican-American too, my parents came here in the 80's. So I'm basing it on my everyday experience and knowing how the Americans we know differ. Being in Texas and the fact that I'm first generation, and that's more likely to be the case with everyone I know, probably plays into it though.

Well, I was citing my wife's personality and childhood to show where her adult demeanor stems from. My wife is first generation, her mother immigrated.

As an adult my wife gets what she wants and makes her own choices. She doesn't give a flying-f what anyone thinks and she deplores how some stuff she likes (as an adult) sometimes becomes suddenly popular with everyone else.

I've stated that I don't like being told what to do. But I am small potatoes compared to trying to tell or pressure my wife in to something. If you try to tell her or pressure her she'll tell you to go to hell. I just ignore people, but she makes sure they back off and leave her alone.

 

[eyoungren]

I've always been fascinated by the phenomenon that when someone wins the lottery, bankruptcies in their neighborhood increase, presumably because people want to buy the same things their rich neighbor has, even when they can't afford it.

https://www.vox.com/2016/2/23/11095102/inequality-lottery-bankruptcy-study

If I ever win the lottery, no one will ever know. I may buy a few things, but all I'm interested in is being able to do what I want to do and not worry about the bills.

People who go out and buy their million dollar homes and expensive cars don't think. There's upkeep involved. And what are the taxes on a million dollar home? What does your electric bill look like? On and on. Then you get family and friends coming out of the woodwork for handouts on top of it.

So, yeah…no.

 

[Apple fanboy]

If I ever win the lottery, no one will ever know. I may buy a few things, but all I'm interested in is being able to do what I want to do and not worry about the bills.

People who go out and buy their million dollar homes and expensive cars don't think. There's upkeep involved. And what are the taxes on a million dollar home? What does your electric bill look like? On and on. Then you get family and friends coming out of the woodwork for handouts on top of it.

So, yeah…no.

I’ll know what you mean. I probably wouldn’t even stop working. But I might cut down my hours to less than 50 a week.

Btw I don’t play the lottery.

 

[eyoungren]

I’ll know what you mean. I probably wouldn’t even stop working. But I might cut down my hours to less than 50 a week.

Btw I don’t play the lottery.

I don't either - but my wife tells me to get $2 tickets every week.

In my 20s I worked for UPS (internal, not a package driver). Our group had some cash because of 'X' safe work days and we were allowed to chose what to spend it on. My vote was T-Shirts, but I was outvoted. Instead, a coworker was given the money to go get scratchers (lottery tickets). I think we got like 5 per person, something like that.

Out of the entire group I was the only one to win anything - $100. Everyone was pissed - at ME!

I suggested T-Shirts!

 

[KaliYoni]

I'd say the human species, which is intensely social, and human history, with its all-too-frequent episodes of fads, irrational trends, and mob behavior, both constantly demonstrate that nobody is completely immune from being influenced by people in their families, communities, and regions. Even if one is negatively influenced (as Yogi Berri put it, "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"), one's behavior has still been at least partially driven by others' preferences.

----------
I think a lot about consumer behavior. Here are some books I recommend for anybody interested in going deeper into the topic of this thread (I have deliberately left out anything related to poltics):

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (Mackay)
Status Anxiety (de Botton)
Status and Culture (Marx) [No, not Karl!|
Thinking, Fast and Slow (Kahneman)
The Paradox of Choice (Schwartz)

...and on a lighter note:
Class: A Guide Through the American Status System (Fussell)
Noblesse Oblige (Mitford, ed.)

 

[eyoungren]

I'd say the human species, which is intensely social, and human history, with its all-too-frequent episodes of fads, irrational trends, and mob behavior, both constantly demonstrate that nobody is completely immune from being influenced by people in their families, communities, and regions. Even if one is negatively influenced (as Yogi Berri put it, "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"), one's behavior has still been at least partially driven by others' preferences.

I learned early that a lot of what I was being pressured to do usually ended up screwing me over. You think a lot about consumer behavior. I watched human behavior a lot as a kid and noticed just how much harm and damage people caused to themselves because they bent to peer pressure.

I've gotten in full-on heated arguments because what people wanted me to do was going to get me hurt. 'Sissy' was a common derogatory thrown at me. Yet, I wasn't the one at the bottom of the hill nursing bruises and broken bones.

As an adult, I am not the one being screwed out of what I really want because someone tries to pressure me to get something else. All you have to do is just go drive your car on the freeway to discover that a lot of people are like herd animals. They do whatever everybody else does.

I refuse to participate.

 

[Rafterman]

I use what I want and I want what I use. What others thinks means zero. Seeking opinions is fine, but don't ever let anyone tell you what to do.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

Will generally agree with the expensive comment, I have noticed of late that they have had better sales prices and some items in general cheaper than Kroger (eg. six pack of bagels at Safeway is $1 lower than Kroger). Hopefully the Kroger/Albertsons merger will be denied as that would really limit affordable options (competition) by me (post merge Kroger, Whole Foods, Sprouts).

Fred Mayer is part of Kroger, I believe. In Fairbanks, Alaska Fred Mayer seems to have more of and less expensive grocery products. The most expensive products are found in the North Pole Safeway store. I prefer Fred Mayer because of the "fuel points" offer. In this case if I need to buy something from Amazon, Lowe's, Home Depot, and so on, I buy gift cards along as the groceries I may need at Fred Mayer. This way I can buy 35 gallons of fuel that's is discounted by $1.00 per gallon.

About the poll above: my family and I aren't influenced by peer pressure. The truth is that I don't know of anybody outside my family who's being influenced by peer pressure.