I am in a Museum

This week, the reading that really stuck out to me was the excerpt from "Why We Need Things," by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Although his name is extremely hard to pronounce, he makes some valid points and I have conflicting views on some of what the text has to offer. The main concept addressed in the article is the idea of objectification, or the relationship between people and the artifacts they choose to obtain.

These objects that we have in everyday life help one explain to themselves about who they are as a person and provide a means of expression, which therefore creates a facade we hope to portray to others. Csikszentmihalyi explains that there are three main reasons for having particular objects: demonstrating power, providing time recognition, and social standing. He also stresses the fact that dependence on objects is physical, but mostly psychological. He makes quite a jump and says that without props, our personal identity fades. I disagree, external stimuli is not a necessity like he claims. I believe that we are perfectly capable of having identity without objects. What if you are poor? If I have no money to buy things I really want, and all I can afford is food and water, am I considered identity-less? People are like museums. We are always changing. We are always observed by random people that we may never speak to, and there will always be judgment we cannot stop. Like a painting on a wall we are criticized and praised for flaw and perfection. I do not think WE need things to identify ourselves, but in fact,  I think that our peers need things to identify other people. This point is made clear in the article, the author talks about other people the whole time, and not once does he mention why HE needs the objects.

I guess my point is that this article really got me to thinking about what I own, and why I own it. Maybe I am unaware that I own certain things for a reason. I think our consciousness is exposed in ways we have no control over. I will admit that I care what other people think of me, to an extent. I dress casually most of the time, but never sloppy. But I dress the way I do for me, not other people. If I felt like not showering for a week and not changing my clothes that would be my own prerogative. The clothes I buy are on the racks in Target, or the mall and I am in a way buying for an audience. Who are the people putting out the line of clothes in style at Target? Are they not deciding how to identify people? Whether I like it or not, objects and humans are interdependent. Do I think we could go without? Probably. I do not know how I feel about the objects I have, but that I have them because I like them. I guess that is for everyone else to decide, because after reading this article, it does not look like I have much say in the matter anyways... so put me in a museum! It is no different than walking down a busy street. There will be people, there will be judgement, and I do not care.