Hyper Individualism Research Paper

What is consumerism? It is the concept that the increasing consumption of purchasing goods is beneficial for the economy. Consumerism can have various impacts on the lives of everyday people. Throughout “Ubik” by Philip K. Dick, consumerism becomes prevalent as Joe Chip experiences the dreamlike state of half-life, in which life and death fuse together. Although some readers claim that consumerism is beneficial to the advancement of life in society, a closer look from Philip K. Dick’s view shows that it leads to the downfall of a society filled with commodified culture, denial of death, and the focus of maintaining hyperreality.

We’ve all know what it feels like: walking down the halls in middle school or high school while you feel like you’re being watched…analyzed…critiqued. It would almost seem like every person you passed would be silently judging you for what you’re wearing, how you applied your makeup, how you did in the last soccer game, or what they heard you did with Jonny. The passerby’s in the hallway would place you on the high-school-hierarchy-of-coolness scale based on superficial characteristics even before getting to know you. Adolescence is a time of learning and forming an identity but it’s also a time where you are constantly being watched and evaluated by your peers, sometimes even put down by physical or verbal means. Bullying has always been

Only a couple of decades ago, hard work and determination guided people to obtain a piece of the opportunity America is all about. Lately there is a surge in having our fifteen minutes of fame and work less, buy more. There are Americans who feel that materialism is the way to obtain true American happiness. TV ads bombard the population with information on what is truly needed to be the best. All media outlets convey how to be more like the famous. Commercials inform on how this star uses this phone and this athlete buys this car. In trying to assimilate to others, some continue to spend even though they cannot afford it. In “Framing Class, Vicarious Living,

I strongly believe that individuality should be valued over conformity. Today I will tell you how precious and rare individuality is, and why we should value it over conformity.

Individualism in today’s society is the “belief that each person is unique, special, and a ‘basic unit of nature’.” The individualism concept puts an

Individualism-> when you value the freedom and worth of the individual, sometimes over the security and harmony of the group or a belief in the importance of the individual and the virtue of self-reliance and personal independence

Hyper individuation is a theory that deals with the self and its place in the larger world. The rise of Hyper Individualism has to do with economics as well as consumption. As (Ericksen, 2016) states in the psychology of a changing world powerpoint, “HI represents a shift from a cooperative mutual support system to a money and market-based goods-and-services provider system.” This means that people stop relying on others, and start relying on economic stability as a support system. People realize that they believe money is the primary source in their life, and that as long as they are receiving that money, they will be complete. An HI individual thinks that money is the best quality to have, even over common positive qualities like kindness or honesty. Once they consume enough money, which helps them to consume other necessities in their life, they feel that they have become whole, or fulfilled. An Hi person would even go to the lengths of picking their partner based on the status of that person’s income, and overall wealth. I believe that this is becoming a more popular and tested

I resonated with Diana Kendall’s, “Framing Class, Vicarious Living and Consumption” article. This author’s choice of language had a huge impact on me. It helped convey the message of the article in a much smoother way. The media has people thinking they can be rich and famous like the people in the television shows. With her language and choice of words, she was able to eloquently portray that TV shows make us feel as if we need to have what the celebrities have, so we buy into what they sell and we feel like we are living a life just like theirs. Living like this only makes us acquire debt, because we are spending money we do not have in prevalence. It does the exact opposite we will only end up being poor and not reach the same status as

Before reading the excerpts from “The Overspent American” I was not familiar with Juliet Schor’s work. While reading however, I saw that her views were different from many of the other authors that we have read so far. When I had finished the reading I found the reading enjoyable and fascinating. The reason that her writing intrigued me was because of her multiple perspectives while writing. Not only does she concentrate on the economics of American people, but she also uses a sociologist lens to show the purchasing habits of our culture. “The Overspent American” focuses on how we as a society have changed our spending patterns from the past. During the 1950s the phrase “keeping up with the Jones’” was coined and it represented Americans trying to outspend their neighbors and friends. For example, my friend buys a boat and I also need to buy a boat to make sure my friends saw me as being wealthy. Today our society as changed in many ways but Schor finds that our spending habits have altered the most since the 1950s. By analyzing and evaluating her work, one can see how Americans spending habits have changed over time and how our economics have been overtaken by television and broadcast media.

As we are constantly exposed to mass media and popular culture in our modern society, the insidious nature of consumerism has allowed it to penetrate into every aspect of our lives, dictating our very beliefs, values and wants. Nearly every individual in our society subconsciously conforms to the shallow and superficial mindset that characterises our consumerist culture. This idea is highlighted by the following texts; the poem “Enter without so much as knocking” by Bruce Dawe, an extract from the sermon “The Religion of Consumerism” delivered by Peter House, the poem “Breakthrough” by Bruce Dawe, and the

Over the past 150 years American Individualism has been changed. People have started to feel this sense of fear against one another, and even the government. The government are the individuals that are suppose to protect our values, and make us feel safe. Privacy is no longer a guarantee, and it can be taken away at any time. Throughout the pieces Society and Solitude, What to the Slave is The Fourth of July, and The Snowden Files. Many different examples of loss of privacy and the loss of the basic components of our society have taken place. In these pieces three different individuals Emerson, Douglass, and Snowden show how the effect of society, and the influence of the government has impacted American Individualism.

Devices do not impose burdens on us. As Borgmann says, “Goods that are available to us enrich our lives and, if they are technologically available, they do so without imposing burdens on us” (41). A gas fire place is an example of a device because the gas fire place does not burden the user. A switch on the wall turns the fire place on and regulates the heat output. The wood is replaced by fiberglass or some type of simulation of the real wood it is replacing. The heat that comes from the stove feels natural and comforting, but the heat is unfamiliar and distant for the user. The user does not produce the fire. A turn of a switch on the wall produces the flame. The lack of burden flip of a switch.

Many people across the world have their own definition and beliefs of the word individualism. There is nothing selfish to be able to express ones personality and internal emotions. Being an individual alone could value a person’s overall true character. The claim presented would be opposed by many because people like to feel independent and self-reliant. Individualism in today’s society lets people express themselves, and helps create something small into something big. For a long time now individualism has existed since the founding of our country. History was created by those who showed independence and proved that an individual can do it all.

1) An individualist is considered to be someone with personality and character, someone who is not easily intimidated by social pressure or customs, someone with a personal opinion and a singular view of the world. Because modern society finds it important that people think independently, decide autonomously and take personal initiatives, the concept of individualism has acquired a positive connotation. However, individualism is also linked with the tendency to withdraw from social life and turn in towards oneself.

As Austrian writer Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach wrote,“To be content with little is difficult; to be content with much, impossible.” History and literature have established that the ideal goal every American has wanted is for his thirst for material possessions to be reached, but even then, the individual isn’t truly happy. Money, and the things it can get you, have long been a part of American culture and the materialist culture of society have been examined in numerous ways from novels to the art of those like Andy Warhol. A life free from the economic woes that plague almost everyone seems like the quintessential existence, but material wealth is not a way to mend issues.