Through advertisements, product placement, and advertiser-friendly programming the media has been able to naturalize consumerism eliminating most criticism of the practice. As a result, when the issue is brought to the forefront of discussion the response is often, “Oh, come one. It’s just a bunch of ads.” The acceptance of consumerism lessens people’s inclination to question why corporations spend billions of dollars to attract costumers. The product of the billions spent is consumers buying new gadgets in order to appear equal to everyone. People are willing to spend money for the newest and latest cell phones in order to not fall behind in technological advances. This increased attentiveness towards PDA’s and cell phones allows businesses to further promote consumerism. By remodeling telecommunication devices, companies are able to market new features further perpetuating the cycle of buying on impulse.
Once affected by this cycle, people lose their individuality and become categorized so that marketing experts can perform their jobs. Businessmen, school children, stay-at-home moms, each become their own group of people, notwithstanding the uniqueness of each of these individuals. Cell phone companies produce phones that enable people to send emails from remote locations and browse the Internet from their phones in order to appeal to the business savvy; TV shows are created solely to market toys to children. As seen in a currently airing anti-tobacco commercial, marketing executives aim to reach all of society with their ads, scooping them up like identical plastic toys rather than individuals with personal needs.
In addition to a divergence from individual identity, consumerism fosters a loss of physical identity insofar as a virtual one is now created. Technology speciously makes life easier by connecting us to one another, but de facto separates us from reality and creates a Matrix-like experience for us to dwell in. In the age of the Blackberry and the Palm, the world is literally in the palm of our hands. With the click of a button people are able to receive news from around the world, and communicate with family and old friends regardless of location. This simplification can lead to a new dependence on consumer goods rather than human faculties. Sherry Turkle takes note of this when quoting a businesswoman in her essay, Can You Hear Me Now?, saying, “When my Palm crashed…I felt as thought I had lost my mind.”
By always being virtually engaged, people are required to think less because someone – better yet something – is doing it for them. Years ago, before the emergence of non-stop bombardments of messaging, friendships were sustained through personal visits, telephone calls and letters. People were able to sit amongst their friends and family and be engaged in each other, providing the forum for meaningful conversations. Ralph Waldo Emerson furthers this argument in his essay, “Friendship”, stating, “But I find this law of one to one peremptory for conversation…two may talk and one may hear, but three cannot take part in a conversation of the most sincere and searching sort.” Although when Emerson wrote his essay he meant the inclusion of a third person, the same principle applies with our gadgets being the intruding party. With this increase in purchases people consequently interact less with their colleagues and more with their newly acquired “toys.” Sherry Turkle takes note in the shift in the behaviors of businessmen, stating, “those who once bonded during limousine rides to airports now spend this time on their BlackBerrys” Superficial friendships are now sustained through social networks, such as Facebook and Myspace, while the creating or sustaining of physically-interactive friendships has ceased.
Undoubtedly it is the role of the consumers to act responsibly and not allow businesses to depreciate their rational thought. In order to combat the adverse effects of consumerism, the solution is not anti-consumerism, but a moderation in spending on material goods. Life is more than comparing what one owns to their neighbor. “The true perfection of man lies not in what man has, but in what man is.” It is more important for members of society to disconnect themselves from their gadgets to leisurely explore the arts and further culture themselves. The Internet indisputably makes gathering information more accessible, however, creating avatars to live in a virtual world and incessant online-shopping does not allow people to engage in all aspects of life.
Technological advances create more avenues for advertisements to reach citizens, consequently furthering consumerism. Furthermore, the more purchases made allows businesses to access and compel people to make another purchase. The tenacity shown to “keep up with the Joneses” needs to be paralleled in other non-consumerist aspects of life such as exploring nature, reading books, or playing sports. There is more to life than the attainment of goods, however, without a moderation in consumer spending and a critical analysis of advertisements, this facet of the human experience may go unnoticed.
-Tyler Sinclair, Editor-in-Chief
-Tyler Sinclair, Editor-in-Chief
