Why do people decorate things?

[Lorizael]

This is a phenomenon I have never understood. Specifically, why do people put stickers on their laptops, or bumper stickers on their cars, or posters on their walls? I do none of this. I understand that people have hobbies and interests and political leanings, but I've never understood what effect is supposed to be achieved by marking your personal possessions with indicators of that stuff. Yes, I get that I'm the weirdo here, and most of the time I recognize that my apathy about a thing is just a difference in interests (fashion), but I really don't understand what's going through a person's head when they decide to put, say, VANS or "Feel the Bern" stickers on their laptop.

[rah]

No stickers on my laptop or car. I consider pictures on walls a different matter.
And I have no tattoos or body piercings.

[giblets]

Why do you have an avatar?

[Egbert]

Why do you have an avatar?

perhaps Lori wants to "decorate" his poasts, with a picture of Albert?

[Ben Kenobi]

It's really an art form when done right.

[giblets]

perhaps Lori wants to "decorate" his poasts, with a picture of Albert?

The marine who's scared of dogs?

[Egbert]

Dogs are extremely dangerous animals.

They are 100% wolf.

Very dangerous indeed.

[Egbert]

Anyway where is Albie?

Did a dog eat him?

[Jon Miller]

I never put pictures up on walls or purchased anything decorative for my home, nor have I ever purchased anything (for myself) that was not the minimal utilitarian item necessary (home wise).

Even among my nerdy friends I am considered odd, everyone else had some nesting instinct. It confuses my wife...

JM
(It doesn't mean I don't have opinions.)

[Egbert]

I never put pictures up on walls or purchased anything decorative for my home, nor have I ever purchased anything (for myself) that was not the minimal utilitarian item necessary (home wise).

Even among my nerdy friends I am considered odd, everyone else had some nesting instinct. It confuses my wife...

JM
(It doesn't mean I don't have opinions.)

You are not the only one.

I do not own any pictures or ornaments, or want any.

Anyway pictures and ornaments mean more effort cleaning and I am a creature of infinite laziness.

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

[giblets]

Terrifying. Let's be glad muslim terrorists think dogs are unclean.

[Lorizael]

Why do you have an avatar?

I am sometimes tempted to post what I think the likely counterarguments to what I say will be in spoiler tags. Anyway, that's a fair question. The answer is twofold:

One, I think of something like my avatar as being essentially a fashion accessory and thus slightly different from what I'm talking about in the OP. What I'm trying to spell out there is people who are advertising some allegiance or identity through their displays. Like, fashion is a way to express yourself artistically through clothing. Okay. But stickering your stuff is simply announcing that you believe X or belong to group Y or like thing Z. What motivates that?

Two, and branching off from the question of what motivates that choice, I arrived at my avatar by a method that I am confident differs significantly from how people arrive at having laptop stickers. The pertinent fact here is that when I am asked to make choices, I often do. So... when I registered at Poly 15 years ago, it asked me if I wanted an avatar. I scrolled through the list and selected the Civ 2 scientist specialist head--Einstein--because I had always liked Einstein and was big on heavy science strategies in civ. I left that avatar there but eventually stopped having one for reasons I don't recall. But importantly, I was without an avatar on Poly for many, many years. I acquired my current one only in the last couple years when BU told me I should get one, and I obliged and decided an update to the Einstein head was as good a choice as any.

So I have this avatar because I was asked to make a choice about an avatar. It's possible that I would have never, of my own initiative, selected an avatar for myself, and I suspect this differs quite drastically from what is going through people's heads in almost every instance in which they decide to adorn their property with some label about themselves.

[Egbert]

So... when I registered for Poly 15 years, it asked me if I wanted an avatar. I scrolled through the list and selected the Civ 2 scientist specialist head--Einstein--

When I registered 17 years ago I scrolled through and selected the most powerful unit in the game, the settler (from Civ II).

I haven't changed it since.

[Aeson]

You should have founded a city by now...