Every day someone makes a purchase, but also, every day, someone throws away an item that still has value. Consumerism appears to have gotten into each part of present day life. Indeed, even the parts of life that were not already influenced by the stores, need to adjust to the new reality, where the buyers are in charge. Consumerism has effects on society that are negative but are covered up with positive ideas from the consumption of new things.
Consumers are crucial to the economy. The Government and producers rely upon the consumers as a result of the immediate advantage. Buyers are vital parts in the market, it is important that the government has put different measures to guarantee that the interest of the shoppers is secured. This demonstration of consumerism positively affects the economy and specifically in an individual group. It is critical to know that demonstrations of consumerism emerge in view of the misuse that is basic in the market. Even though, there is a positive effect on the economy, there is also a negavtive effect. What Amitai Etzioni says in his Huffington Post Article, “What needs to be eradicated, or at least greatly tempered, is consumerism: the obsession with acquisition that has become the organizing principle of American life. This is not the same thing as capitalism, nor is it the same thing as consumption.” Consumerism disturbs not just the high society in wealthy social orders but rather additionally the middle and lower. Vast quantities of individuals crosswise over society trust that they work just to make a decent living, however an examination of their shopping records and wardrobes uncovers that they spend great parts of their pay on status products, for example, mark name apparel, the ‘right’ sort of auto, and other grouped things that they don’t generally require.
This attitude may appear to be so fundamental to American culture that opposing it is bound to vanity. In any case, the current monetary downturn may give an opening of sorts. People start to replace their common sense, and every thought about buying items responsibly with thoughts on just wanting the newest item and focusing on getting the money for it. A lot of the time people start to forget and not realize the actual potential and ability of the items they purchase. and as a result of the people constatntly buying items, they are also throwing away items, that some might still work up to full potential. They are just unwanted. Take smart phones for example. These devices are worth over 400 dollars, and the majority of people only use them for minimal social media use. When these devices have the capability to create some really cool things. Movies can be filmed on them. They have large capacities for storage and documents, but its all used for nonsense like games and apps that order food.
When people see ads for items, they a lot of the time have this feeling that they want it. This is because the companies have experts that know how to get into people heads and find a way for people to get interested and intreagued by this new item. As those people see these ads, they dont see all the time and money spent into making the items. Also, the earth is taking a toll, because all the materials to make the items have to come from somewhere. The planet is just unequipped for supporting American-style utilization all around. Possibly we have to quit purchasing such huge numbers of ‘toys’ or our utilization of nonrenewable ‘normal capital’ needs to wind up requests of extent more proficient and helpful. Either, obviously, would infer gigantic change in utilization designs. Be that as it may hyper-consumerism raises different issues also. “Many people in contemporary American society feel enormous “time binds” in their lives, in part because they are caught in a work and spend treadmill. Time scarcity is a continual source of stress, but the cultural pressures and institutional arrangements that accompany consumerism make it difficult for people individually to solve these problems”(Bakan). Landfills are constantly filled with item and goods that are unfixable. Items become unwanted and are seen as lesser and as garbage a long time before they actually become broken or stop working. Generations are growing up while not knowing how to really value the items that they have. Individuals who can’t spend end up useless.
There was a period, when for many people purchasing standards were characterized to a great extent by individuals especially like themselves in their prompt social condition. Today, utilization standards are vigorously molded by pictures that individuals find in the broad communications, particularly on TV, as opposed to just by the real gauges of living of individuals like themselves. There are many people what don’t have enough room in their houses to hold all of thier belongings. this results in them going out and using what is called “Self Storage”. This is a huge industry that is grwing at a very fast rate. There is so much useful land that is covered in pavement and these storage units are built there to hold all of these people’s “stuff”. This then leade these people to go out and buy more goods, because they have all this room for the bigger, better, newer thing. It doesn’t make much sence, because if the items that are bought have value and purpose, whay are they then later stored and never used? It is hard to understand but it happens every day. This is bad side that is covered up by all the ads and awesome videos and pictures of these new items. no one is shown the dark side and what is really happening behind the billboards and tv commercials. People are constantly thrying to be viewed as what why have, not who they are.
Commercials aren’t promotions for the best curiosity of the general population; rather, they are item determined illusions to get individuals intrigued. Companies have effectively been expanding benefit through manifestations of compelling advertising techniques. The inevitable impact of promoting and shopper culture is inspected in connection to a postmodern condition set apart by expanded speed, fracture, and the removal of the subject. This condition frequently prompts the shopper to create ad‐avoidance systems that ensure people’s space by sifting through abundance promoting mess, which additionally colonizes general society and digressive space of buyer culture. The battle for these social spaces looks like a war of position between the belief system of consumerism and its adversaries, who endeavor to develop elective perspectives toward consumerism. Advertising helps significantly in demonstrating the customers what they truly need. During the time spent publicizing there are different methods that are connected that either have positive or negative impacts to the items. This is generally realized by the way different publicists display their adverts to the shoppers. As indicated by most explores got from the all inclusive community about promotion, the most elevated level of individuals take commercial to be something worth being thankful for. This is on the grounds that they trust it to be educational and fundamental. Ads are seen by different intelligent people as a thing that extraordinarily degrades general public and society in this way reprimanding the social requests of that make up the general public.
Consumerism shows how society and people can not see underlying consecuences and negatives with something. People don’t see what is really happening with all these new items being produced. They just want to go out and buy it. Consumerism has ways of covering up the bad with all these advertisements, which causes people to forget about all the negative aspects with mass production.
Consumerism In The United States: Social Issues
Consumerism in the United States is unlike that of most other developed countries in the world. Most countries, as they should, have placed regulating policies on advertising to children that keeps them protected from the corrupt, deceptive, and manipulative strategies that many marketers utilize to sell their products to children. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan made the shocking decision to veto a proposed bill that would have regulated the advertising on children’s television, despite the fact that the bill was overwhelmingly approved by both houses of Congress.
There are numerous unsettling consequences that have arised from this decision and the commercialization of childhood; the policy on consumerism must be refined before the consequences worsen. Kids influence 700 billion dollars in spending every year. This is why the market often focuses on making their advertisements in a way that they believe would appeal the most to children. Many marketing agencies seek the help of psychologists who are experts on how to reach children. Focus groups are another common strategy to gain information on what kids will react to the most in advertising.
There are even “Youth Marketing Seminars” every year that are for the sole purpose of teaching people how to best advertise to children. Another surprising method is neuromarketing, a form of marketing that involves taking MRI’s of different kids’ brains to see which advertising methods excite kids’ brains more than others. Kids are being manipulated by marketers and they don’t even know it.
There are countless alarming aspects of consumerism in the United States today. Commercials aired on children’s television back in the 20th century used to just simply describe the desirable features of the product being advertised. Now days, symbolic advertising is much more common. This advertising technique often stresses social standards, which make kids feel like they won’t be cool or fit in with their peers if they don’t buy a certain product. Children’s products also used to be cheaper than products for adults, but in this day and age, advertisements often encourage kids to buy expensive or designer products.
Another concerning aspect of American consumerism is that young kids are now constantly exposed to things that they are not old enough or mature enough for. Young boys are being exposed more and more to violence in the video games they play, the toys they play with, and movies and shows they watch on television. Young girls are encouraged to spend money on things like makeup, hair products, and clothes to make them look more beautiful according to society’s beauty standards.
Many of the dolls that young girls play with have highly sexuallized outfits and looks that encourage young girls to dress inappropriately for their age. Movies that would have been rated R in the 20th century would now be rated PG-13. The commercialization of childhood has led kids to have a mindset to act much older than they really are.
Perhaps the most damaging effect of consumerism in the United States is that mental and physical health issues in children are much more pressing today than they were in the 20th century. The more media a child is exposed to, the more likely they are to have mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, and/or physical health issues such as diabetes, obesity, body image disorders, etc.
The life expectancy of 21st century children is going down, when it should be higher than ever. Kids are exposed to hundreds of advertisements every single day, many of which are manipulating them without their knowledge. Consumerism in the United States is corrupt and needs to be refined before the consequences worsen.
Effects Of Consumerism Essay
The term consumerism refer to anything connected with the predominant ideas in our modern society that in order to happier, better, and more successful people we have to more stuff. Consumerism has replaced God in life of people (society) instead of inspiring for love and peace, we wish for products which has resulted to the pollution of the environment and the very nature of humanity. In addition to this meaning, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 6th Edition, defines consumerism us the buying and using of goods and services; the belief that it is good for society to buy and use a large quantity of goods and service. It is based on capitalism, people are not looking for the communality but benefit based on their own interest. Our contemporary society are described as a consumer society in so far as identity and status are acquire and social inclusion/integration is considered to be achieved through participation in consumer activity.
The capitalist society with which Karl Marx was pre occupied is regarded as a work based society, a society that engage in their capacity as a consumers where by job, work, and career is considered to be the identity, respect and satisfaction. . Also life style of individual, consumption and shopping are more valuable. Newspaper, television, radios are not conveying their role, they keep advertising about marketing the things like clothes, phones, computer, and other things.
Consumerism as a form of life for our contemporary world is determined by the market. As we can see most developed countries like United State of America, Britain, China, France and other has made Africa to be their market for everything they produce. Their Extension and raising of consumer choice is now regarded as a self-manifestation of freedom for them. They are concerned with in advertising, marketing and branding. Self-identity and happiness has been be archived through the consumption of things by those counties of lower economy, whereby they have seen to be superior than the other such a way that whatever they do is alright good, the undeveloped countries do not have power to question them.
Politics, film stars, family and peers, advertisement, leisure, football, no time for sitting at home within the family people are busy with their phones dating for business are the form of life which is occupying our contemporary society. Effects of consumerism is that it has caused an alienation of a person from the family and attaches to the material thing such a way that a succession of wanting more possessions, state of constant dissatisfaction and manipulation is highly considered in the life of an individual. Also it does not meet our needs because it restrict our choices and lives and affects our world views and character by making it unsustainable. It is unpleasant in a way that views is based on responding to someone need. Consumerism stress on higher production because they are looking for the market for consumption of the product, it does not care how much effect will be there for the environment as far as concern with pollution.
Solution for consumerism is to exercise intellectual independence.by reasoning to the things which are being advertised and not to accept everything which most developed countries bring to us such a way that our countries are seen as a dumpiest place for everything. We should ignore unwanted materials, advertisements, messages and other related things which come to us and be aware how they can affect us.