Ideias e simbologias do consumo

Abstract

This article is about the study of the social representations of the consumption, having considered the ideas and the images conveyed by several young teenagers. This work took place at a school, using focal groups as a method of gathering qualitative data. There were a total of 37 pupils involved, 21 female and 16 male, with ages between 13 and 16 years old. Several categories resulted from the analysis of the data. Some emerged from the data we gathered, others derived from the theoretical processes underlying the elaboration of the data gathering instrument. The “rights and duties of the consumers”, “sustainable and responsible consumption” and “financial management and indebtedness” were created from the structure of the script of the interview. The category “youngsters and consumerism” and some subcategories in “financial management and indebtedness” came from the analysis of the interviews.