Consumptive Behavior of Students: Analysis of Herbert Marcuse's Perspective

Abstract

Human life in the post-modern era is characterized by very varied needs and has penetrated all levels of society, including students. In practice, students at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, Makassar State University tend to act excessively and prioritize desires over needs, for certain reasons. This must be addressed as soon as possible because students are a key element in the movement to stop the pressure from capitalist activities that have developed, not to become supporters in inheriting and expanding the capitalist system. Therefore, this research aims to determine the consumer behavior of students at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, Makassar State University. This type of research is qualitative descriptive research using Herbert Marcuse's theoretical approach. Data collection techniques, namely observation, interviews, and documentation. Researchers used source triangulation to ensure the validity of the data, where the data collected in this research was analyzed using theories related to the object of research, namely the consumer behavior of students at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, Makassar State University. The results of this research show that students at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law at UNM tend to prioritize secondary needs solely to achieve inner satisfaction. In essence, a new form of control has been integrated within students, accompanied by various forms of repression. Apart from that, by using Herbert Marcuse's theory the author also found that students at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law at UNM in the era known as Gen-Z have been influenced by the urge to fulfill their needs even by ignoring other aspects of their lives, including lectures.