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Consumerism and its effect on society
The problem of consumerism and its effects
The problem of consumerism and its effects
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An Affected America Due to Consumerism How many of us really think about “Why we consume the way we do?” and “How do we constantly support the economic process of consumerism?” Some people might say that they need the all of the flashy electronic gadgets like phones, tablets, and hover boards or they must have those 3,000 designer jeans because they’re trending right now on social media. I asked myself these questions and I realized that I’d never really consciously thought about how Americans consume until now. The neediness and demand for more has rapidly grown since the birth of America and Americans have been supporting consumerism for decades. But we must ask the big question to ourselves “Are we truly gaining anything from our unhealthy habits in the way we consume?” It is without question that consumerism has indeed affected and greatly impacted our American culture, lifestyle, and social statuses in America by our desire to want more. James A. Roberts the author of “The Treadmill of Consumption expressed that, “Cars for example, are …show more content…
Americans that support Black Friday have this me-first attitude unconsciously portraying a narcissist mindset towards bargains and sells. They go into stores lined up for days willing to compete for the greater sale amongst thousands of other costumers and retailers that support this chaos annually because they gain the majority of their profits during the holiday season. Anne Norton states in her essay “The Signs of Shopping” that, “Shoppers who look, as most shoppers do, for bargains, and salespeople who warn shoppers of impending sales, see choices between commodities as something other than the evidence and the exercise of freedom. They see covert direction and exploitation; they see the withholding of information and the manipulation of knowledge.” (Norton
Thanksgiving Day is a day of family, food, and giving thanks for the blessings in life and yet some people believe Thanksgiving to be a prep day for Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. The focus of Thanksgiving shifted from family bonding to incessant shopping. This trend of taking away from the hours of Thanksgiving in order to shop is enraging. It steals away from family time for the shoppers and the employees. Employers threaten workers that if they do not work on that certain holiday, they will be fired. Black Friday should be kept to Friday instead of moving in on my family time. The whole culture of Black Friday has become repugnant and unnecessary.
There are many people who are driven by consumerism, and many people who wish they could get in touch with that type of world. Consumers are often encouraged to advertise more of the products that they are buying to get more people to buy more products. Hari Kunzru, author of “Raj, Bohemian,” creates a narrator who is obsessed with maintaining his individuality and free will in a world that is overcome with consumerism. Believes that the world takes away individuality when consumerism comes into play and how hard it is to maintain their true self. In her LA Times article “Teen Haulers Create a Fashion Force,” Andrea Chang writes about the phenomenon of teenage YouTube users who make videos that publicize their latest shopping binges.
Through out the world, thousand of starving people look wherever they can for scraps of food or spare change. On the other hand, millionaires and billionaires can buy a private jet to fly anywhere on a whim while eating the finest of foods. In the middle, ordinary people work regular twelve-hour days in order to pay the bills and put food on the table. Each person can be in a different category. Most often you can tell which category an individual is in by looking at the things they own. Consumerism, or the push to buy goods and services, is not a new thing. It has been around since the very first sale or trade centuries ago. Although today, controversy has arisen about the rapidly growing rate of consumerism and how it affects the economy around the world. Is the current rate of consumerism a good or bad effect on the economy? Also, what are some ways to help people understand consumerism better? As I do research and explore, I hope to find the answers to these questions in order to understand the issue better myself.
America’s current standard of living is going to cause our demise. Consumerism is a problem throughout Americans culture since mass production began in the late nineteenth century. The obsession with consumerism has led to mindless wastes of resources, a diseased society and economic instability. Rick Wolff, a professor of economics at University of Massachusetts, states “economics of capitalism spread consumerism—now uncontrolled, ecologically harmful, and fiscally disastrous—throughout the United States”. Wolff’s viewpoint on consumerism aligns with mine. Believing that an economy based on promoting endless consumption is volatile and unsustainable. Consumerism can be analyzed and seen to be embedded by corporations and politicians.
‘Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley is a science-fiction book in which people live in a futuristic society and a place called the World State. In ‘Brave New World’, Aldous Huxley used the idea of consumerism to describe the behaviors and lives of the citizens of the World State. The practice of consumerism by the people of the World State fulfilled their satisfactory and happiness. However, it also blinded purity and truth among its people. Different classes and different genders of people practiced different acts of consumerism such as consuming soma, technology and bodies. They sought happiness from them and eventually these acts became a social norm. However, these practices of consumerism also had side effects. It blinded truth such as
It is seen in everything from the hoarding of material objects to the destruction of friendships, both of which are popular themes when regarding the topic of Black Friday shopping. Black Friday has become Black Thursday, a trend which has only shown up within the last decade. The great American holiday that is Thanksgiving is celebrated because of our gratefulness toward all that we have, a holiday that is meant to be spent gathered around a table of our loved ones. However, the retail holiday that consumes the day afterward has begun to overflow into our gatherings, and it is due to the greed of the American people. Were it not for the market’s demand for earlier sales, stores would not open their sales on Thursday nights. Everyone would simply wait until early the next morning to start off on their shopping extravaganzas, and the sales themselves would likely be far less violent as
Many modern philosophers have pondered this question, often giving rise to scathing critiques of consumerism as shallow; the product of a decadent and decaying culture. This is where most people turn away, not because they reject what the philosophers say, but precisely because they know it to be at least partially accurate and this is unbearable. It’s unbearable because while we know the meaning of life can’t be reduced to a new SUV, we don’t know what on earth we would replace consumerism with if we were to abandon it as the bedrock of our daily lives. What would we do with our time? Why would we work overtime? Why would we get up in the morning?
As a ritual, Black Friday indicates that shoppers value four sacred objects; materialism, Christmas, relational bonding, and tradition (Bell 235). Materialism in this context is searching “good deals.” By participating in the largest shopping event of the year (figure 1), shoppers are valuing the importance of getting a good discount (Bell 243). Christmas is a sacred object because consumers value the concept of gift-giving, as many Black Friday shoppers are shopping for holiday gifts (Bell 244). Relational bonding is described as the time spent shopping with other fellow shoppers, including family, friends, and strangers (Bell 243). Black Friday shopper will typically shop in groups rather than alone. And finally by participating in Black Friday, consumers are valuing tradition (Bell 244). As research has shown, many shoppers attend to simply follow the annual tradition, rather than have a specific
A resource shortage demands an increase in productivity effacting the gross domestic product (Grimes and Register 2016, 5). Schor provided three main contributing factors that led to the shift of consumerism. The first, is that women, particularly college educated women start moving out of the homes and into the social activities of society and into the workplace (Schor 2004). Being around other people in the workplace who were talking about upscaled consumption patterns led to more spending. The second factor is the fact that households had higher incomes to allow for more spending. The third factor was the media and television advertisements. Consumers were being exposed to what was available and were told they to could experience all the luxuries available. Upscaled housing, vehicles and clothing were all representative of status. These were visual examples of ones lifestyle that gave the appearance of success. Advertisment also, launched the “branding” era that changed the way consumers made purchases. The example that Schor gives in is water, prior to the 80’s water was just water but when advertising took over, they promoted various bottled waters that consumers felt if seen with would give them status. This applied to many products to include athletic shoes with the Nike, Addidas, and Converse logos on them, coffee like Starbucks, cloths with visible labels for Gap or Abercrombie and Fitch all gave a status to the consumer. An example of buying based on social status is my high school basketball team in the later 70’s. Being raised in a farm family of five children, money was tight. My high school basketball coaches decided we as a team would wear addidas high top sneakers. This was not a mandatory directive but highly encouraged . When I told my parents I need to buy these sneakers for around $100, they said no. Of course being a sophmore in high scholl
Modern technology has provided us with numerous time-saving devices such as automobiles, cellphones, vacuum cleaners and dishwashers. In North American the middle class and upper classes are larger than ever before, most of them taking for granted things that were once considered luxuries, such as colored televisions and air conditioning. People spend vast amounts of money on expensive things that at one point either did not exist or were well beyond our necessity. Americas past time has changed from baseball to an uncontrollable shopping driven culture. In recent decades the range of life choices available to people ...
Consumerism in the 21st century is what has shaped our economy for centuries. Throughout our history, the American dream has been to become the most successful person you can possibly become given the opportunities presented to you. Consumerism has provided our country with a lot of jobs and efficient sources of income for the general population. Consumerism gives our country an upside unlike many other countries in that you can grow up in a hardworking blue collar family and become the most successful person in America. Even though consumerism has a lot of positive effects, it also could be the reason for a lot of society’s issues that people have to live through day in and day out.
Would any self-respecting American shopper pass the opportunity to accumulate great items at extremely reduced prices? Of course not! The idea that there are people all around the country who are bold enough to criticize savvy shoppers just for trying to take advantage of great sales is awful. Huge sale events such as Black Friday receive relentless criticism year to year, but for no true reason. Targeted by people who are incapable of worrying about only themselves during the holiday season.
For most, Thanksgiving is a holiday spent with family and delicious food, but for others, it is a day consisting of tremendous planning in hopes for a major haul of “discounted” items. In the United States, it is safe to say that Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping events each year. In recent years the public's participation in Black Friday has continued to decline, stated by the National Retail Federation. ”Thirty-five percent of consumers who plan to shop during Thanksgiving week say they will do so on Black Friday, down from 51 percent last year and 59 percent the year before, according to consumer markets research from PwC, the professional services giant.” (Bhattarai). I personally have never been
Americans have had in the last fifty years decades of unprecedented economic growth which has all but solved the economic problems of how to secure the necessities of life and most people are living lives of luxury and comfort (Alexander 1). This has caused the consumer industry to skyrocket. Everywhere one looks, there are advertisements being thrown at them. These items are not advertised as luxury items, but as something someone needs to survive. The consequences of consumerism is people are saving less money and feel they need to keep earning more money to keep up with the demands of society (Etzioni 1).
Consumerism and Consumption are intertwined in their definition but also difficult to differentiate. 'Consumption' is the purchase and use of manufactured goods. But in the last years consumption has become "both an economic and a cultural touchstone" (Miles 3). Consumption has become more and more part of our life in today's society. We consume many kinds of products and often replace bought items if they stop working instead of repairing them.