Final Post

I still remember in the first response assignment about my own experience of stuff and consumerism, I said confidently that I was not obsessed with stuff and I only brought a little stuff that I really needed to college. When I went shopping, I was not at all the shopaholic appeared in the movies; rather, I was a rational and practical person who only bought necessary and valuable goods. So basically, I acted as a headstrong consumer who firmly believed marketing and consumerism had nothing to do with me.

Yet, after this whole course period of analyzing ads, articles, magazines and discussing about consumer culture and consumerism, I have to admit that in fact, I have already been in this marketing trap for a long time. This materialistic culture started in America but I can tell it has spread to the globe, at least to my city. Even though I never madly crave for the latest technology device or high-fashion clothes, that doesn’t mean consumerism is not rooted in my mind. I am somehow often made to believe I need some items, which is totally not the case. For example, I thought I needed to buy a pair of new boots because they were waterproof and they could keep me warmer than my older pair in the winter. But you probably already know that their quality is the same.

I feel sad to find that customers, who are supposed to consume with a great range of choices to fulfill their needs, have gradually lost autonomy and are suppressed by marketers. To clarify, by saying consume with a great number of choices, I am not favoring consumerism. What we have to do is to balance between consumption and over consumption. The world has changed a lot and we have greater productivity and creativity than ever. People have more money and they live in a more developed world. By consuming a suitable amount of newly produced goods, we consumers can make our lives easier and thus gain more happiness. And in reverse, it can also drive up the economy, add educational funds or other welfare, and help develop our country. However, these marketers and sellers have done too much. They promote materialism and create fancy atmosphere in the ads to suggest people that if you buy our goods, you will acquire a lifestyle like this and that lifestyle is exactly what can gain you respect in this current consumer culture. In the fashion industry, marketers over emphasize on branding and use over-sexualized ads to promote their sales. Even in restaurant retail industry, the marketers try to get into your subconscious to induce you to order more.  If a prevailing culture is taking away how we value stuff as before, how we define happiness and more importantly, taking away our identities and the lifestyle we have really enjoyed, we really need to stop it as soon as possible.

I do realize it’s hard to control the extent of consumption and completely change a culture that is greatly perceived by the majority. Yet it’s our obligation to stop marketers compelling us like this; it’s also our responsibility to alter our consumption habits.