Essay on Effects on Consumerism

The economy is a very fragile thing; however it can have an enormous impact on people. Americans especially are affected because they are so greedy, they always want more. Because Americans are very materialistic, they can become overly arrogant and possessive since they are used to getting their way, on account of having money.

Consumerism leads to self-gratification and the loss of life’s important values such as friendship, love and religion; this is an ever-growing issue that manipulates and deceives society and has done so since the beginning of the technological age.

Throughout the novel brave new world consumption plays a vital role in their economic and political system. However the role consumption plays in the world state isn’t much different from the role consumption plays in our society. People may be encouraged to buy things in a different manner, but both systems end with the same product.

We are all aware of the facts – that materiality is unsustainable; that consumption is overwhelming; that economic gain is all pervasive. Yet we favour ignorance. Time has caught up with us and the self-interested ideals that once held our society together are no longer durable. This has produced a gap, but nothing palpable to replace it with. Hence individuals like you and I must resort to other avenues of fulfilment.

In this section Peter Singer's argument that humans spend too much money on items that are unnecessary will be examined and explained. In an interview Singer was asked the question, “what is morally wrong with me spending fifty dollars on a meal because I worked hard for that money?” In response Singer said that most of the people in the world no matter how hard they work, could not fathom spending that much money on a meal and that people who live in the 1st world take this money for granted as this expensive meal

Everyone in this modern society is obsessed with having the best of the best items and technology. The world economy consists of billions of transactions every day (Etzioni, 2012). In this society, three-fourths of those transactions are on things people do not need but desperately want just to fit in. These points were put very acutely when Etzioni said, “But when one attempts to satisfy these higher needs through the simple acquisition of goods and services, consumption turns into consumerism — and consumerism becomes a social disease” (Etzioni, 2012).

Hunger for luxury items and people’s strife for the brands and items they associate with being beyond reach is paramount for this system. It is this drive for items one can’t have that the author feels is one of the benefits of consumerism. He declares, “…the aspiration of the poor to

As we are constantly exposed to mass media and popular culture in our modern society, the insidious nature of consumerism has allowed it to penetrate into every aspect of our lives, dictating our very beliefs, values and wants. Nearly every individual in our society subconsciously conforms to the shallow and superficial mindset that characterises our consumerist culture. This idea is highlighted by the following texts; the poem “Enter without so much as knocking” by Bruce Dawe, an extract from the sermon “The Religion of Consumerism” delivered by Peter House, the poem “Breakthrough” by Bruce Dawe, and the

Consumerism is the center of American culture. Americans tend to confuse their wants with their needs. With new advances in technology, as well as the help of advertisers, people are provided with easy access to new products that seem essential to their everyday life, even though they have survived this long without them. People cannot live without food, clothing, and shelter. But realistically, according to people's different lifestyles, more than food, clothing, and shelter are needed. Most people need to work to survive. Unless a job is either in their own home, or within walking distance, a means of transportation is needed. Whether it be a vehicle, money for a taxi-cab, or a token for a ride on the subway, money must be spent

Consumerism is damaging to our society, in our North American society consumerism is often portrayed to be a negative aspect of people’s lives. However, one can also argue positive effects that result from consumerism, or emphasize on the negative effects of consumerism and how it can be a constraining force in one’s own life. Consumerism is an idea of an economic policy that the market is shaped by the choice of the consumer and continues to emerge to shape the world’s mass markets. Some of the negative effects of consumerism that many critics may argue and that will be further emphasized on are the overexploitation of consumerism which has lead to economic poverty, and increase

Our observations over the years have seen society become both a capitalist and consumer focussed western world, with money being the focus (Norris, 2006, p. 458). With the restriction and reduced spending during World War II, society went from virtual poverty to accelerated spending after the war, with the dominance of commodities and considerable amount of advertising, and cheap imports from around the globe (Norris, 2006, p.

The latest consumer must haves always seem to stare out from their perch, chanting swipe the card, swipe the card. The swoosh of the plastic heard as it glides through the reader, is done for one purpose only. This purpose is the satisfy the spender at that moment in time. How handy it seems to have a plastic card with your name, that can pay for all of the “necessities” that a modern consumer needs now. Looking around, it is seen that America is a society filled with people who work to spend. Their earned paycheck soon becomes dollar signs displayed on their eyeballs, as they browse through the mall. These dollars are most often spent on items whose value fades over time. Due to selfish reasons, the general bourgeois bohemian spends to

Consumerism turned out to be a big part in modern human life, the modern form of consumption brings with it the promise of a good life and good feelings; that is probably why it became a type of entertainment rather than necessity, a luxurious and leisure activity exchanged for free time. The idea of exchanging your time for materialistic goods is part of the capital economy; it is said that consumer culture came to be because capitalism surfaced as an economy force, along with the beginning of modernity (Storken, 2009). Modernity is more understood here as the mass production, industrial revolution, and people moving to urban centers that happened during the

Whoever said money can’t buy happiness? Today, the argument can be made that happiness and consumerism are directly linked. It is fair to say that happiness is a relative term for different people. However, the obtaining of new and shiny things has become such a part of everyday life, that it provides happiness when people are purchasing something new, and causes sadness when no buying is taking place. For many, it seems to be a protective coating against the harsh realities of everyday stresses from a job, or family life.

Consumerism is deeply embedded in our culture and heavily influences our day-to-day behavior and interactions with others. Examples of consumerism include the fashion industry, our obsession with getting the newest technology, and why we purchase a certain type of car. The downside with our obsession of constant buying is that there are so many negative side effects that impact the environment, worker’s lives (working conditions, low wages, poor living conditions) and our own relationships with our families, coworkers and friends. There is a lot of evidence of these side effects, and yet we keep buying into this cycle. We should know better, and yet it seems like it will be very hard to get us to change our habits. The works of Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, Phillip Bauman, Julia Pugh in, and Pierre Bourdieu in attempt to explain why we continue to practice consumerist focused lifestyles.