Questions about consumerism
What would happen if we stopped shopping?
Reasons people buy so many things
Consumerism Essay
People are encouraged to throw away older gadgets and adopt the latest models and latest fashions
Does this bring any disadvantages to society or any economic advantages?
How would you answer this consumerism essay question?
Consumerism Essay
The fact that there has been a growing tendency for some decades to move developed societies toward a disposable consumer-based lifestyle is no surprise. It is now deemed more convenient and almost necessary to constantly update various aspects of modern life such as technology gadgets and clothes according to the most recent trends and fashion. This brings both advantages and disadvantages.
Clearly, the drive for constant consumption of what are considered essential items in modern life, such as technology gadgets and clothes, is mainly fuelled by large corporations wishing to capitalize on profit generation by engineering products which are designed to have a relatively short lifespan. The now prevalent culture of constantly updating electronic gadgets, amid much marketing hype, especially in the case of computers, tablets, cellular phones and other similar gadgets virtually guarantees manufacturers a constant demand in the market, which is a clear benefit for them. This along with the jobs created producing, distributing, promoting and ultimately selling these products brings clear economic advantages for not only the corporations involved but also local and national economies.
On the other hand, society has been affected by this trend. While in the past, repairing or upgrading a product might have been an option. Wearing clothes until they were worn out - rather than simply outdated was also common practice for many people. Nowadays, the most likely outcome is simply to replace the product with the latest version and buy new clothes each season or year. This means a constant drain on the income of the population which might have been used for other purposes had it not been spent on such items.
Clothes and fashion items are a prime example, as most modern clothing is not designed to last for more than a season, or possibly two at the most. While the means to manufacturer high quality and durable clothes still remains, the desire is to constantly launch new designs, barely discernible from previous ones, or simply recycle old fashion trends with a slight twist and market them to a now fashion-hungry population supported by much hyperbole over the latest offerings. The downside of this trend is the overall lack of expectation for anything to last a long period of time, which translates into other areas of life, where everything is considered temporary and ultimately disposable, therefore not warranting any real investment of time or effort, as it will surely be replaced soon and will not have to stand the test of time.
In general, as long as society has sufficient disposable income in order to support this way of life there appears to be no problem other than for those who do not have sufficient income to stay up to date with the latest of everything and therefore the danger of social stigmatization rears its ugly head, especially in the case of teenagers, who are incredibly susceptible to peer pressure regarding items such as fashion and gadgets.
Why are people encouraged to throw away things in order to get the newest fashion and latest technologies?
One reason is that modern technologies are designed to be non-repairable or difficult to repair. (See the movies "The Light Bulb Conspiracy" and "Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media" for examples of this.)
This is called planned obsolescence, where companies design things so that they wear out quickly.
Another reason is the idea of buying new things as status symbols in cultures that don't have good social safety nets. For instance, in many developing countries, people are encouraged by their culture and government policies not to save money. They are encouraged to spend money as soon as they get it.
Why are people encouraged to spend money they don't have by using their credit cards?
Why are people encouraged to throw away old but good clothes that they have worn for years and to buy new ones?
You see it everywhere in shops – on TV ads or flyers – suggesting over-consumption, shopping till you drop, or mindlessly binge spending.
The pressure put on consumers can make you feel helpless because there is so much around us trying to persuade us to buy more stuff.
Sometimes we might think we need something, but later we find ourselves questioning its true value. We may even ignore our instincts and rationalize why our purchase is necessary, even when it isn't.
What would happen if we changed our spending habits and only bought what we needed?
What would be the impact on the economy?
Would we all become more independent and less dependent on corporations?
Our consumerist society encourages us to buy new, better things. This behavioral programming has resulted in the current situation.
Our cities are bursting with excessive amounts of waste, which is polluting the environment. This behavior also leads to people's self-alienation from their neighbors and the environment that they depend on for survival.
To change this destructive dynamic, we need to understand how it was created in the first place.
What would happen if we stopped shopping?
According to environmental activists, an outrageous number of items are produced worldwide – around 300 million tons per year!
That adds up to 81 trillion plastic bags consumed between 1950 and 2014 since plastic bags were invented. Statistics show that if we reduced unnecessary consumer spending by 10%, we could reduce the carbon emissions of the entire population by almost one-third!
The link between consumerism and sustainability goes deeper than the throw-away culture that has resulted in piles of unused things. The production of goods is destroying natural habitats, causing pollution, and creating climate change through the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
When a new fashion trend emerges environmental activists are pushed aside. Are these reasons enough to continue wasting precious resources and paying little attention to our planet?
But why do we keep buying more when we already have plenty of clothes and other things at home?
According to research, humans see abundance as something positive, while scarcity encourages people to economize their resources and search for alternative ways to do things.
In conclusion, we have been socially programmed to over-consume for the benefit of large companies. There is little real need for most of what we buy nowadays other than to satisfy superficial desires or try to fill a void within ourselves.
Yes, it may sometimes be a bit hard to resist the pressure of society and our peers. But if we cared about what was right, then we would have stopped this destructive consumerism ages ago.
To understand consumerism, it is essential to look at a basic economic principle: supply and demand. In economics, an increase in price causes people to want less of something. This concept is called the law of demand. When prices go up, people buy less or stop buying that product altogether, and the product is taken off the market.
But for companies to make money, they must create a desire for their products so that consumers will keep buying them and paying higher prices.
Questions people ask about consumerism
Why do I need to buy this new thing?
Does it make my life better?
How does the production and disposal of all these things harm the earth?
Would there be an economic collapse if we all bought less?
Reasons why people buy so many things they don't need
- Mass media advertisement – fashion, technologies, cars, etc. (made by huge and powerful companies).
- Family pressure from parents or older brothers/sisters who already have what you don't (because of their jobs).
- The school system that "force-feeds" students to either buy expensive equipment or clothes they don't need to be cool among the other students. Or because your friends have it as well, so you want to fit in a group. This behavior is called social conformity. And this happens very early in our lives.
What's your opinion about how much we spend on things? Do we spend too much?