Jack Elliott
Professor Walsh
ANTH 2/ Introductory Anthropology
May 19, 2022
Journal #6
As of right now I would consider myself a “follower” when it comes to my social role as a consumer and worker. The reason for this is because I am relatively young which means that I tend to look towards older people for guidance when it comes to doing any tasks or buying any products. A “follower,” is defined as someone that “follows a leader.”
1
I describe myself as a follower because I tend to look to other people for guidance. For example, in high school when I worked at In and Out, I just completed all the tasks that my manager wanted me to do. I would also consider myself as a “follower” on the consumer side because I tend to buy products based on what other people are buying. For example, I tend to buy more Apple products because a lot of people recommend them to me. As a consumer I tend to have a fairly large impact on the environment.
Social Metabolism, as defined by Professor Walsh, is the process by which we can “measure the environmental impacts that our modern industrial society creates.”
2
He describes the many roles that people take in this system, but the ones that I believe I fit into the most are “Consumption and Excretion.”
3
The reason for this is because I am currently a student without a job. I am not involved in any production processes, which means that I am entirely dedicated to consuming and excreting any products that come my way. One of the biggest examples that I can
think of is my consumption of water. I am a big fan of sparkling water, which means that I tend 1
Medeiros, Perspectives: An Open Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, (The American Anthropological Association, January 1, 2020),
8.
2
Casey Walsh, “
Social Metabolism,” (lecture, UC Santa Barbara, 5/13).
3
Ibid.
