“We live in an era of consumerism and it's all about desire-based consumerism and it has nothing to do with things we need” (Aloe Blacc). Sadly but that's true, nowadays people spend their money on things that they don't need. Consumerism is not a problem when people consume what they need based on their budget, consumerism becomes a problem when people consume more than what they need. Positive consumerism is when people buy food or basic needs in contrast negative consumerism is when people spend their money because of trends, or because people want to fit into certain social circles.
Good consumerism is when people buy the daily basic needs. It’s normal to consume, food products, cleaning products, health care products, and education. It is necessary to buy food to be alive and healthy. Buying basic needs is more like an obligation and a responsibility. Consumerism should not be a problem if people spend less than their income.
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On the other hand, bad consumerism is when people spend their money on trends such as sneakers, and clothing. People think that they have to wear certain brands to fit into society, but I think that by doing that people are losing their real personality. For example, Douglas Rushkoff wrote that a boy couldn’t figure up what shoe to buy just because he was worried about what people would label him (Which One of These Sneakers Is Me?). That’s bad because people don’t have to be labeled for what they wear but for how they are. It’s sad how people spend a lot of money on famous brands just because they think that wearing famous brands makes them look better.
Consuming more than what you need can be dangerous consumerism because it can lead people to credit card debt. When people are persuaded to buy certain things for example, if a young man or woman is obsessed with Jordan sneakers or Michael Kors clothing or with Gucci they can keep buying and buying things even if they don’t have money for it so they decide to use their credit cards. It is just like people are addicted to buying things just because they like it or because other people have that article. American consumers are carrying a whopping $1.003 trillion in credit card debt. Broken down by the number of households in the country, the average amount for each household is $5,700, which includes households that aren't carrying credit cards (Irby). Consumerism can be dissatisfying when people can’t pay for what they want.
In conclusion, consumerism can be positive and negative it depends on what and how people consume. Positive consumerism is when people consume what they need. Negative consumerism is when people are in credit card debt when consumerism becomes addictive, and when people think that they have to wear certain brands to fit in society. Hopefully, people can consume positively and stay away from negative consumerism by buying what they need and what they want.
Works Cited
- Irby, Latoya. The Balance. 4 March 2019. 3 April 2019.
- Neva Goodwin, Julie A. Nelson, Frank Ackerman, and Thomas Weisskopf. 'Consumption and the Consumer Society.' Social and Environmental Issues in Economics (2008): 1-26. document.
- Rushkoff, Douglas. 'Which One of These Sneakers Is Me?' Goshgarian, Gary. The Contemporary Reader. Pearson Education, 2013. 91-95.
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Essay on Positive and Negative Effects of Consumerism.
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