{"id":834,"date":"2009-09-30T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-09-30T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/onecity\/2009\/09\/adventures-in-learning-how-we-buy-less-part-1-the-start-of-my-journey.html"},"modified":"2009-09-30T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-09-30T06:00:00","slug":"adventures-in-learning-how-we-buy-less-part-1-the-start-of-my-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onecity\/2009\/09\/adventures-in-learning-how-we-buy-less-part-1-the-start-of-my-journey.html","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in learning how we buy less – Part 1: The start of my journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"shopping<\/span>by Kirsten Firminger<\/i><\/p>\n

I am finally collecting data for my dissertation. It is focused on people living in New York City who have voluntarily chosen to buy less<\/a>. I launched the survey last Thursday and I am already amazed at the responses I have gotten. Being able to hear about the variety of goals, motivations, and experiences that different people have had is such a privilege and so very fascinating. I can’t wait to hear from more people (obligatory promo: if you live in NYC and have voluntarily chosen to buy less, you can link here to the Buying Less in NYC Survey<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Since I have finally reached this critical stage in my dissertation research, it has led me to look back at how it started for me. I entered my social psychology program<\/a> thinking that I was going to focus on issues related to gender roles<\/a> and norms. For my second year project (equivalent of a master’s thesis), I looked at how masculinity was portrayed in teenage girls magazines<\/a>. What came across in the magazines as strongly as gender norms, was how much these norms where tied into selling products. The underlying need to sell advertising space and integrate sponsors into the content of the magazine articles was overwhelming. It turns out that a girl can’t have her first kiss without the right brand of lip gloss on hand. That is when I turned a page and began studying consumption, branding, and marketing.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\nAfter a couple of years of being overwhelmed by research into the
\npsychology of consumption, I was left feeling a lot of despair. Much of
\nthe writing had a negative tone when it came to individuals’ ability to
\nhave any control, understanding, or voice in this world of
\n“consumerism”. I wanted to seek out alternative voices and experiences,
\nboth personally and academically, which found new ways to deal with all
\nthe consumption that was going on around us. <\/p>\n

That began my academic adventure into researching reduced
\nconsumption and my personal journey of living a life of buying less,
\nboth of which continue to evolve. The coolest part has been finding out
\nabout all the different people and organizations that are out there
\naddressing this topic in their own way. Not only is it national figures
\nlike No Impact Man<\/a>, Rev. Billy and the Church of Life after Shopping<\/a>, Rob Walker<\/a> and organizations such as the New American Dream<\/a>, Freegan.info<\/a> and Evolver.net<\/a> that are out there. It is also local people and groups like the Brooklyn Green Team<\/a>, GreenEdgeNYC<\/a>, Bags for the Peopl<\/a>e, and the Fixers’ Collective<\/a>. It is even what brought me to the Interdependence Project<\/a>.
\nLast, but not least, it is the people I run into in daily life who have
\nthings to say about choosing to buy less. We all bring something of our
\nown to the table, whether it is ideas, skills, compassion, networking,
\nor politicking, it all contributes to creating where we go next in
\nunexpected and surprising ways. And that, to me, is what makes this
\nworth doing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Kirsten Firminger I am finally collecting data for my dissertation. It is focused on people living in New York City who have voluntarily chosen to buy less. I launched the survey last Thursday and I am already amazed at the responses I have gotten. 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