Consumerism

Susan Littlefield

Consumerism

OMM 612

 Managing in Social Change

Week Four Writing Assignment

2/13/2012

Abstract

Consumerism is a nasty beast but how does one stop and slow down the pace of his or her life in a society where we are taught at a young age that it is important to have things and those things will bring us happiness, or so we think!  “Sorry, the lifestyle that you ordered is currently out of stock," this is what the famous street artist Banksy has posted on a wall in London letting people know that consumerism is not a joke (Frans, 2011). One can only image some poor lost soul sitting at their computers admist serveral things that said poor soul does not really need, for example anything that has an electronic devise that was puchased for the simple fact that this new thing is better than the old and therefore I will be happier with the new thing.

Consumerism

“By learning to be happy with less, you just may find that so many possessions were merely complicating your life.  You may find that few—but more special or unique—things trump multitudes of mediocre or common things.  True, some material objects do make our lives easier, but they cannot bring us happiness, which must be found within” (Horowitz, 2012). We all have dialed a number we have got from the internet in hopes that a real person on the other end will help us solve one problem or another, some people fear that it will be a waste of time because neither their problem or a real person will be able to answer his or her question because an automated system is the only option. One can only image that there is a website with a call center attached to a phone number that will allow a person to press one for happiness, two for health and wellness and three for the redemption center so that said person can return all the things they really did not need. How does one learn to survive the messages that we are being sent day after day that are helping society to become disconnected from one another but attached to a high tech machine, that one does not really need to live?

Advertising with an agenda

According to David Carter a graduate of the master of applied Positive Psychology program at the University of Pennsylvania,  “One study found that the cost of the lifestyles represented in the most popular TV sitcoms are well beyond what the average American can afford. We see these lifestyles and, over time, expect them. Another study found that the more a person watches television, the more money they spend. This was in spite of the participants’ beliefs that they weren’t affected by commercials” (Carter, 2011). Watching TV can make people go into debt without them even knowing how they got there, slick advertising allows people to think that they need something that they see on TV. The worst of them all are drug advertisements that make people think because they have this certain symptom or sets of symptoms that taking this product will allow that person to regain perfect health again. Using natural health products or treatments is a great way to help a person feel better in general practices such as acupuncture, chiropractic, herbs and vitamins allow a person to heal within without the need of some invasive procedure or drug that will have a mile long list of side effects that are spoken very quickly by the announcer at the end of a well crafted commercial. Some people are so desperate to feel better they will purchase the drug that the commercial has claimed will make them feel better and take away their pain.

Intrinsic Motivation

“Important work being done by psychologists specializing in Self-Determination Theory has shown over and over again that people who live a life of intrinsic motivation are much happier than those who live a life dominated by extrinsic motivation” (Carter, 2011). People who are motivated by this feel great about themselves through means other than having bought it at the store are said to intrinsically motivated and have an inner sense of strength and wellbeing that just cannot be bought over the internet. “Intrinsic motivation is represented by self-acceptance, affiliation, and community feeling” where as “extrinsically-motivated people, on the other hand, focus on financial gain, their appearance, and social popularity. They generally seek acceptance by something or someone outside themselves” (Carter, 2011). Many people who use Facebook will post their latest purchase like my uncle who has an endless supply of phones and gadgets that a few times a year he will have updated. My question is what did he do with what he already purchased, that works still but was replaced with something he thought was even better? Although he was a former teacher who now runs a travel service which friends and family take advantage of and get really great deals, so I think my uncle also has an appreciation for sitting at the beach and staring out into the rolling ocean. Maybe the fact that he spent so many years of his life surrounded by students who had to get the latest thing that they influenced his desire to buy new telephones even when the old one still worked.

Slow Life Down

How does one slow life down? Here’s my recommendation watch less TV, limit how much time is spent in front of the TV, hit the remote button when commercials come on or get up and walk away from the advertisements and not listen to them at all. Commercials are played so fast that it may take repeated viewing to really get the message and the worst part of advertising is when the commercial is played over and over again during one TV program. It gets annoying because the time could have been better spent on watching an hour program without the distraction of 15 minutes of advertising saying the same darn thing, it gets old and some people do not realize the effects of watching too much TV can really lighten their wallets just by clever product placements throughout any given show. Carter states “Many continue to believe that it’s not possible for them to become brainwashed without their knowledge. “I hit the mute button during commercials,” Or and this is a great idea, “I digitally record my shows before watching them and fast-forward through the commercials” (Carter, 2011).”

Conclusion

To be a change agent on the lowest level is to let friends and family know they watch too much TV, people will not readily admit that they are spending too much money or that there is indeed a problem with their mental capabilities and that said person will feel that they are not affected by consumerism in the least. People do not like to be told what to do, but if instead TV is limited when they are around, other fun things are found to do like talking with one another and finding out the scoop with them, instead of turning on the TV to find out what is going on with the latest news on the actor or actress who just got out of rehab or was arrested for doing something really stupid. The message that should be passed along is that people who have less can be happier than people who have more, people who do not have all sorts of electronic gadgets are harder to find so that they are not connected to other people who say have a pager, a blackberry or any type of other product out there that can be held in the palm of your hand. People who are a little out of touch with technology like myself do not feel tied to having to answer to someone or some kind of task that must be completed in a short amount of time, because sometimes people rush so fast through their lives they miss the important things. I have many family members who lead this kind of life and they have a hard time talking to each other face to face, it is like they forget what it is like to not be texting or looking up something on their high tech phones to get an answer to someone who may be awaiting their text. These people are stressed out, can easily be contacted by work after hours and go shopping when they really may not have the money to purchase something so the item goes right on the credit card, to be paid at a later time. Is it really worth it? I say no! Another way people will slow their lives down will be surfing the net and finding articles online relating to living a simpler life, they will probably find these articles by accident but with consumerism awareness starts one person at a time.

References

Carter, D. (2011, June 8). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2011/06/08/the-psychology-of-consumerism/

Frans. (2011, December 12). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.beyondberlin.com/blog/banksys-ironic-attacks-on-consumer-culture

Horowitz, B. (2012, February 12). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.sustainableenterprises.com/Planet/anticonsumer.htm