Final Blog Post

In the past semester, I have learnt so much from taking this class. Sure, I had a very brief idea of what consumer culture was, but it was after all the readings, videos and discussions we had that opened a whole new window to how I perceived consumer culture. For one, I never would have drawn the line between consumerism and environmental issues. Watching Story of Stuff made me realize that consumerism was not just about the problem of over-consumption and being susceptible to manipulation by marketers. In fact, it is one of the crucial aspects that cause social and environmental issues. I don’t think people realize that consumer goods are not just dropped from the sky, but are created with resources from our Earth. Yet, after consumption, we don’t even blink twice when we throw something out, tossing toxic and garbage into our Earth.

As a consumer, I do feel that this knowledge and awareness of the subject has made me more cautious of what I am consuming. Now more than ever, when I am out in town I think deeply about what I really need to buy and I take into consideration different factors. By looking closely at how advertisements are targeting us, I feel that I am more aware of the techniques that they are employing. Whenever I flip through magazines and sit through the ads before a video starts, I come to notice hidden messages that the marketers are sending to lure consumers into their trap. Being able to see past the image that the marketers want us to see has also become a very useful tool. As we try to raise awareness of the dangers of consumerism, we can make use of these marketing techniques against the marketers themselves.

While this class had made me more aware of the impacts of consumerism, a part of me is extremely worried about how we are going to combat this issue. Our culture has become so intertwined with consumption that the things we buy have come to represent who we are. Consumption has also become the very reason for the existence of our economies. In fact, a research conducted by the Economics Web Institute showed that consumption is the largest component of our GDP. It worries me that our lives have become so entwined with consumerism. And to simply stop consumerism is not something we can do overnight, nor is it something that businesses and governments would appreciate. By taking down consumerism, we will essentially create a domino effect. For example, if we stop buying cars, most automobile companies will start losing profit and laying off their workers, eventually going bankrupt and closing down. The automobile industry will eventually be obsolete and thousands of people will be left unemployed. People will be left unsatisfied and if they look for jobs in other firms, they would still be fuelling our consumption needs. I can’t help but ask what is the solution to this problem that has been going on for decades? Is it possible to look for a balance in consumerism?

It is hard to take a stance in this issue because even though it is appalling to see how consumerism is such a large part of our lives, it is definitely not something that we can easily regulate or take away from our culture without facing certain consequences. However, I think that being aware of such an issue is the first step into creating change. Just as we discussed in class, if we all participate in détournment, we will be able to raise awareness of this issue and start to get people thinking.