People define themselves by what they consume rather than by what they have seen and experienced.

That observation touches on a classic tension between identity and experience.

On one hand, consumption—whether of media, products, or cultural symbols—offers a set of readily recognizable markers. Brands, playlists, streaming‑service subscriptions, or even the latest tech gadget can act as shorthand: “I’m a Spotify listener,” “I drive an electric car,” “I’m into indie cinema.” Those signals are easy for others to read and for us to adopt, so they often become a convenient way to signal belonging to a particular community or lifestyle.

On the other hand, what we’ve actually seen and lived through tends to be messier, less quantifiable, and harder to convey in a quick exchange. Experiences shape our values, empathy, and worldview, but they don’t always translate into tidy labels. Two people might have watched the same documentary, yet walk away with very different interpretations because their prior experiences filter the meaning they extract.

The emphasis on consumption can therefore be both practical and limiting:

• Practical – It lets us navigate social spaces quickly. In a world saturated with choices, aligning ourselves with recognizable brands or trends helps us find peers and signal common ground without lengthy explanations.
• Limiting – It risks reducing a person to a checklist of possessions or subscriptions, obscuring the depth of their lived experiences. When identity is framed primarily by what we own or stream, we may overlook the richer stories that come from travel, relationships, failures, or moments of quiet reflection.

Philosophers such as Sartre and Heidegger warned against letting external “objects” define us, arguing that authentic selfhood emerges from our actions and choices rather than from the things we accumulate. Contemporary sociologists echo this, noting that consumer culture can foster a kind of “performative identity” where the outward display matters more than the inner narrative.

So, while consumption provides a useful shortcut for social signaling, it’s worth remembering that the fuller picture of who we are lies in the mosaic of experiences that can’t always be packaged into a brand logo or a playlist title. Balancing the two—recognizing the role of shared symbols while also valuing the depth of personal experience—can lead to a more nuanced sense of self and a richer dialogue with others.