DIFFICULTIES WITH IDENTITY - ART OF SELFCREATION AND PROBLEM OF RECOGNITION (Potize s identitou - umeni sebetvorby a problem uznani)

A discourse of the term identity is very unambiguous in social sciences. However, there is a prevailing opinion that identity is a social construct which is characterised by plurality of identification relationships. Identity as a non-variable and stable quality of a man is in question and, on the contrary, it is understood as an ongoing process of constructing, defining and re-defining in the interaction of a man with the outer world. From the perspective of constructivism, the identity can be understood as the art of self-creation performed in concrete conditions of a social-cultural environment. In the era of late modernism the art of self-creation is being more significantly performed in the atmosphere of growing insecurity. Insecurity causes problems when building self-confidence, which complicates the process of creating a human identity. We, as consumers, experience certain insecurity when having to choose from a wide range of consumer goods and services. Uncertainty calls for a demand for the trust. Trust causes reduction of insecurity and supports self-confidence as a presumption of creating identity. In the world of consumerism and consumption significance, there is also a growing significance of trademarks and of sellers as possible sources of trust. These sources become an important part of consumers´ self-creation and they become a symbol of social recognition. The inability to participate in the consumers´ world and in the commercial entertainment may cause frustration and humiliation leading to unwanted socially pathological behaviour