I've been musing on the concepts of badges and why we seemingly feel the need to broadcast our choices, most obviously our choice of social causes. From Inspi(red) shirts to Livestrong bracelets and self-proclaimed reusable bags, consumers have been increasingly showcasing their alliances. So what's the draw? Folks would never want a Coach purse that said "I'm made of cow!" but we love our reusable bags stating "I'm made of recycled plastic bottles!" (Though some would argue that Coach is already synonymous with quality leather, aka cow, so it wouldn't need such a proclamation, but I digress...) We like people to know that we're green, or that we support cancer research, and badges make that possible.
But what if we didn't get our badges? What if people went around collecting one dollar for cancer research without giving athletes and general supporters the now-iconic bright yellow rubber bracelet? Would it have been as successful? My best guess tells me no, definitely not. But how long will this work? Will badges start to lose their meaning, their momentum? If so, will people still buy reusable bags that don't proclaim their continued use, or support AIDS research one iPod-priced donation at a time? I regret to say it's likely some of these behaviors may taper off, and I'm worried that these causes might suffer if badges lose their social currency. What do you think might be the next evolution?
To take the discussion one step further and play the devil's advocate to my own thoughts on generational theories: One common belief of Millennials is that they were raised on praise and recognition and thus are motivated by reward. We were paid for good grades, and showcased weekly in our schools for menial achievements like running the mile in under 8 minutes. Assuming this recognition-and-reward-based-condition is valid, might this be part of why these products are so transparent, and so popular in young demographics? Then again, badges are far from exclusive to the young folks. Anyway, just a thought. It's not like the Millennials are the only ones making the products, either.
Photo: Bag from Roots Canada
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2 comments:
I like your connection btw generational development and praise/recognition. Definitely something interesting to explore a bit because I think there's certainly something to be said for the examples you've listed.
I'm thinking social currency has always been a huge motivator though, right? My brief, rushed thoughts on the matter: these badges have always existed/will always continue to be powerful influencers, but millennials have taken a bit more kindly to them than the average gen x/c/g/whatever-er.
Great thoughts, thanks for sharing!
But if we take our social causes and create badges for all of them, won't everything cease to mean much? I mean, I don't imagine consumers will still want reusable bags that say "I'm organic" or "All green" on them in five years. The rubber band phenomenon (thankfully) seemed to come and go for the most part.
I think part of it all is that there's a new level of transparency. We have facebook profiles that detail our favorite music, books, film, etc. Back in 2003 and earlier, we had to (gasp!) find out these things by talking to people. But will this desire to be transparent pass? Will just using reusable bags be enough? We shall see.
Don't get me wrong. I'm all about anything that gets people hyped up to raise money for medical research or make good, environmentally-minded decisions. I just don't know why we have to be so DORKY about it.
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