Styl życia w czasach indywidualizacji. O wolnym wyborze jako kryterium dyferencjacji społecznej

Abstract

This article is a theoretical reflection on the changes of the quality of living “everyday life”, a category of lifestyle, on the background of the socio-culturally based individualization. Apart form customization, another analyzed category of this study is the concept of a “lifestyle”, the subject of interest of many scientific disciplines which highlight the different constitutive features. Today’s conditions of postmodernity based on flexibility, change, a lack of stability and predictability, are not part of mainstream thinking about a lifestyle as a category closely-determined by external factors, even such as class membership. For considering the changes in individuals’ daily lives, the subjective aspect should take into account internal factors, such as free will or choice. Consumerism is no doubt a contemporary trend which especially strongly changes postmodern societies, leading to changes in the quality of daily life of individuals. This area of human activity has become a defining force in a lifestyle, weakening the importance of class.