Consumerism In College: Fast Food and McDonaldization

As college students we walk all over our university to get from one class to the other; from the north side of the campus to the south, east, and west. The majority of students are generally always busy with class, study groups, organizations, homework, studying, etc. that the thought of eating a proper meal does not even cross our mind. As students we tend to eat whatever is most convenient, regardless of quality or cost. All over campus we see fast food locations in the prime hot spots of student activity; where students can simply go after or before class and get something to eat within ten to fifteen minutes, and naturally these are the primary source of food for many students, despite many freshman already having cafeteria meal plans! The sociological reflection theory says that; places like these serve to expose the basic social structure of our society; and in this scenario, offer some insight into the phenomena of the booming fast food industry in the United States. Reflection theory also reveals evidence to support that McDonaldization, a word coined by George Ritzer to suggest that the principles of fast food are beginning to dominate all aspects of life in America, is occurring in the United States. At the University of Texas we have the convenience of having food available everywhere, but it's also important to consider that all of this food costs money; something that college students notoriously lack. So one must ask why are students spending so much of their limited money on this food that is terrible for them? Reflection theory would tell us: McDonaldization.

                An analysis as well as observations were conducted on students in campus to further look into how fast food companies manipulate the college subculture into falling prey to consumerism. Possible catalysts for this trend among college students to spend unnecessary amounts of money on fast food include the type of culture shock many students experience in the process of adapting to the college setting, as well as the pre-conceived notions of how college students should live. By this I am of course referring to the experience thousands of freshman have every year at this school: for most this is their first time being independent from their parents, and the adjustment isn't always easy. Many students actually undergo a bit of a culture shock; as some may even be accustomed to their parents preparing their meals for them every day, and find themselves lost when they must fend for themselves. It is because of this that often students turn immediately to some of these less healthy fast food options as a recourse. In addition to this most students come to college with their heads already filled with ideas of how they should act, who they should hang out with, and what they should eat. When interviewed, students unanimously agreed that eating copious amounts of fast food (and spending an absurd amount of money on it) was an accepted norm, and something they expected to do in college. This represents part of the non-material culture we have, or an intangible aspect and way of doing things in our society. To explain, buying low quality food for expediency to eat on the move is fairly unique to our culture, and the fast food market in America is much larger than those in the rest of the world. I believe people justify this consumerism based on the misguided idea that fast food is the cheap option. It is true that fast food is cheaper than a restaurant, but still more expensive than what you can get out of groceries. It is also mainly about the shear volume of fast food bought; yes it's cheap but not when you eat it 5 times a week- As shown by the graph, children ages 2-19 (which would include college freshman) in the United States ate more fast food than food at school and at restaurants combined from 2005-2008.

               Returning to the application of reflection theory, the consumerism occurring  in this campus subculture absolutely reflects the consumerism of the entire country. In addition, it mirrors the support of the theory of McDonaldization as students clearly show that convenience will always trump quality and cost, just as many Americans who have the means will always choose the easier option in all facets of life with little consideration for human safety or cost.

The Video highlights some the startling facts surrounding fast food, such as french fries being the most eaten vegetable, and obesity being on track to become the leading preventable cause of death in America. It makes one think that perhaps society's values are a bit flawed as our value of convenience is so high that we are essentially willing to die for it; and to top it off we are paying these companies billions of dollars for it.

                To Conclude, perhaps the best course of action is to not allow fast food restaurants on college campuses to remove the convenience from the subculture. This would simultaneously end the rampant consumerism and help diminish the subcultures value in convenience over quality.