The Branded Self: Youth Identity, Social Media, and Consumer Culture in Kolkata

The concept of brand has expanded beyond its economic role in modern urban societies and has become a powerful cultural icon that determines identity and social standing. This paper is entitled The Branded Self: Youth Identity, social media and Consumer Culture in Kolkata, and explores the effects of branded consumption on the development of youth identity and social image formation in a digitally mediated environment. Based on the primary data obtained via a structured survey on Google Forms, the study revolves around the preferences, motivations, and perceptions of branded products among the respondents, mostly between the age group of 18 and 30 years. The results show that, although quality is still one of the dominating factors in brand preference, symbolic elements like status enhancement, self-expression and social acceptance contribute significantly to influencing consumer behaviour. The social media platforms play a big role in such dynamics by promoting aspirational lifestyles and allowing people to compare themselves to others all the time. Influencers, advertisements and online content facilitate branded consumption as a norm of identity. Simultaneously, the paper finds that a critical viewpoint exists among the interviewees who oppose the idea of brands determining personality or intrinsic value. This brings out the presence of aspirational consumption and conscious resistance within youth culture. The study shows that the process of identity formation is not a purely brand- driven phenomenon, but it is an outcome of negotiation between personal values and social contexts, and economic conditions. This research paper will enrich the literature on consumer culture and symbolic consumption by providing empirical evidence from an Indian urban context. It highlights the two facets of brands as the instruments of self-expression and social coercion. Hence, the research findings advocate that branding, social media and youth identity are interconnected concepts in contemporary society, with significant implications for marketers, educators, and policymakers.