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From Kinship To Consumption: Capitalism And The Restructuring Of Family Relationships In Modern Society

This research examines how family dynamics have changed with the conjunction of consumerism and individualism and how capitalism has contributed to those changes. The methodology for this research is located at the junction of family and consumption sociology. The research does not consider the expression "from kinship to consumption" as a figure of speech. It argues that market logic makes the organization of close relationships of a different nature. In this study, the quantitative descriptive method was used. Primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire created on the Google Forms platform. The questionnaire invited ten participants to respond to statements to measure their attitudes on the family and work tensions, the tension between material and emotional family values, the values of family and the emotional and material values family relationships, the erosion of traditional family values, and the encroachment of work and financial responsibilities on family time. Responses were allocated descriptive statistics—specifically, frequency and percentage—and then compared to respond to the gaps in recent peer-reviewed literature and older, foundational social theory. For the sample, the study found that most participants indicated that the family and social capitalism was seen to be changing. Financial pressure was noted as the most cited change. The study suggests that rather than perceiving the capitalist restructuring of the family as a pervasion of materialism, the restructuring is experienced as the intensification of economic pressures and the contraction of time. The study provides recommendations for policy and family practice and outlines future research. Files