Choosing a cold, on the go beverage has never been as hard as it is now with so much variety and the range of drinks in the chiller at supermarkets and corner shops; a bulk of these drinks are 'new world' Energy Drinks. The appeal for energy drinks over regular carbonated drinks or coffee is that they contain caffeine, which is a stimulant, and they also have a very high sugar content which makes them very sweet, as opposed to coffee which is bitter, so after consumption individual's can get a 'buzz' and gives them more energy and keep them alert for them to get along with their daily activities. A person will most likely first consume an energy drink when they are in their teenage years- between 15 and 17; they start consuming them because their friends are having them. People are either regular consumers of them and consume them a few times a week or they have them occasionally, only when they need this energy they supposedly give. (Larson, 2014) The choice for consuming these drinks isn't entirely because a person may 'like' the taste of them but because of the society and social status that surround the decisions a person makes. 'Who you are' and more so, what you consume and why comes about through your identity that are influenced by different factors in general life and consumption of energy drinks can be reproduced through class identity. .
Identity or in other words 'who you are' – what makes you do something - could fall under structure or agency, these views can be implied as a subject of socialization; on defining if a person's actions are made independently or are ordained because of social structure in a society. (Archer, 1995) Structure is the repeated arrangements that influence or constrain available choices and opportunities whereas agency is the power of individuals to make their own decisions and actions freely and independently.
