The New Consumerism And Media Culture

Having more was no longer associated with the expansion of unexplored lands, but with the idea of consumerism; whereby having more was now associated with happiness. As a result, people constantly engaged themselves in impulse buying (Shames 94). Consumerism has made Americans overlook quality and decency and as Shames argues, “Americans have been somewhat backward in adopting values, hopes, ambitions that have to do with other things other than more” (92). The mentality of Americans was to strive for bigger and

With social media playing a huge role in society, us Americans are becoming more materialistic. We are being influenced by people who give us these unrealistic expectations in life and always making us want more in life than what we have. We try living up to these expectations by buying elaborate accessories, when in reality they serve no purpose to us, making us feel empty on the inside.  Like Steinbeck said, “We trample friends, relatives and strangers who get in the way of our achieving it; and once we get it we shower in on psychoanalysts to try to find out why we are unhappy” (Steinbeck). Despite all of this, us Americans still claim to be realistic, yet we pay $800 for a phone just so we can be like everyone else. We buy name brand clothes that are overpriced. We pay $7 for a cup of coffee. The list goes on and on. The American Dream Steinbeck relates to is not something someone can buy, rather is it something you earn. As Steinbeck said, the American Dream is “yearnings toward what we wish were and hope we may be: wise, just, compassionate, and noble. The fact that we have this dream at all is perhaps an indication of its

Materialistic people, whether wealthy or not, can never have enough material belongings to fill a void within themselves. And yet, they waste much of what they purchase and do not see the wastefulness as a problem. Today the purchase of unnecessary material goods has increased and wastefulness has also increased. Dumpsters are full of consumer’s unwanted possessions that will eventually be replaced with more binge purchases. Do material things make us happy? Is there a price to pay for being materialistic? Consumers could be happier if they focused on the people in their lives rather than the things in their lives.

The main points of the book are divided up,and go month by month.Each month is a new topic.Judith is challenged against her own word of not buying anything for a new year.The book witnesses Levine’s journey from enthusiastic experiment in January to a still game but weary participant by the fall.As favorite luxuries run out and clothes become shabbier,many of her points are intentionally provacative.For instance,not buying makes her feel vulnerable and having to ask for help.”I know I’m not alone in my ambivalence about consuming”After a few months Levine does not have to ask for help anymore.She is used to not buying anything,but it is still hard.At the beginning of her year without shopping,she is in a panic.This is not necessarily a personal panic.”Still I am moved by a sense of personal responsibility,not to say personal panic ,about this big,bad problem and the rapidity with which its is getting worse”’At the end of the book ,her mood changed from “panic”’to prosperity.Panic,Surplus,Consumer Psychology,New and Improved,In/Voulnatary Simplicity,Scarity,Redistribution of Wealth,Structual Adjustments,Memories of Underdevelpment,Security Fraud,Brand America,The Ownership Society and Prosperity.are the fifteen chapters in “Not Buying It”.Within each chapter, we discover,the different difficult trade-offs and tensions in not consuming.By focusing primarily on the personal choices and consequences of not shopping,Levine may be telling us more about the mind-set of American

The Business Dictionary defines consumerism as the “continual expansion of one’s wants and needs for goods services” (2016). Despite consumerisms current negative connotation, according to Dictionary.com the term itself originated in the early 1940s with a more positive economic connotation on the basis that consumerism inspired growth (2016). This concept of continual desire for the “latest and greatest” first became popular in the 1920s. Americans were tired of the strict rationing of World War I and were ready to begin spending money again. As production rose in efficiency and capacity, thanks to improvements made during the war, there was plenty to be sold. “By the 1920s, America was a society in which many men and women could afford not merely the means of subsistence, but a considerable measure of additional, discretionary goods and services; a society in which people could buy items not just because of need but for pleasure as well” (Brinkley, 641). But, what affect did this have on the American population? How did this insatiable appetite for goods shift American ideals and values? Consumerism in the 1920s was viewed as a means to finding happiness, love, and companionship in life. Yet, history, media representation of time, and critical analyses repeatedly demonstrate that consumerism was an ineffective and troublesome means to satisfaction.

These days we are surrounded by the latest technology: smartphones, hybrid automobiles, and robots that clean your floors. Companies are constantly finding ways to capture your attention; to keep upgrading and spending endless amounts of money on items that you don’t need. In “Honestly–You Shouldn’t Have” by Anna Quindlen, the reoccurring theme of materialisticness is mentioned and is applied to every American, starting from the Industrial Revolution up until now. In reality, having these upgraded objects and over expensive clothing represent how socially insecure they are. They simply cannot live looking poor or old fashioned, they need to show others that they are not bottom feeders. People see what they have and know there is a better model

Consumerism has always played a critical role in my life. As a child, an endless series of elementary school fads introduced this debilitating desire to have. From a young age it was obvious that one’s status is very closely correlated with what they own and the desire to fit in engendered a sense of competition in my elementary psyche. Yet, a year ago when I began working at Walgreens I started to question the ideas with which I had been indoctrinated. But at first, my job seemed a simple rite of passage and my chance to prove I could evolve into a working, dependent citizen.

Recently I heard a story about a mother and child walking through a retail store when the child says to her mother “I want those shoes!” The mother asks “Why do you want those shoes?” to which her daughter responds “Because everyone else is wearing them.” The Mother asks, “Wouldn’t you want to get something different and be more original?” and the child says “No, then I wouldn’t be original like everyone else!” Between the 1920’s and the era of World War II America saw some of its most dramatic cultural shifts since the country’s beginnings. This story of a mother and child expresses the changes that took place in the early half of the 1900’s which made a lasting effect in creating the consumer society we know today. This consumer-centered society that we know was developed by multiple shifts in the American economy and lifestyle. In this essay I will discuss how each the “Roaring Twenties,” the “Great Depression” and the World War II Era each contributed in the way of accelerating or stalling the process of creating an American consumer society.

Real American Dream by Andrew Delbanco really emphasizes on the kind of world we live in right now in regards to consumerism. He explains how although we live in an age of “unprecedented wealth” (pg. 107), we are still deprived. “In its forced consumption of masscult, the modern self becomes all and nothing at the same time” (pg. 105), Delbanco explains how we live in a world that is based on consumption and puts the idea to mind that because of this we will never have enough. According to the author, the most “striking feature” of our contemporary culture is our “unslaked craving for transcendence” (pg. 114). We want and crave more and more but by doing this we set ourselves up for disappointment. As a culture, we are not satisfied with what we already have. “The American will not have been fulfilled. It has always been a global dream” (pg. 117). In my opinion, I believe that what this book shows is how we need peace, not necessarily

In contemporary American culture, consuming is as authentic as it gets. Advertisements, getting a bargain, garage sales, and credit cards are firmly entrenched pillars of our way of life. We shop on our lunch hours, patronize outlet malls on vacation, and satisfy our latest desires with a late-night click of the mouse. The idea that consumption is private should not, then, be a conversation- stopper. But what should a politics of consumption look like?

History 's records often overlook ordinary people, but collectively, they make significant and abiding social change. A social and economic order within America propelled, perhaps unconsciously, by the people, is consumerism. Originating in the nineteenth century, consumerism revolutionized the way individuals thought, behaved, and interacted with each other. Coming into full bloom during the Industrial Revolution, consumerism fueled a new desire for material goods, unnecessary for and unrelated to basic survival. The idea for mass production, a cheaper and more profitable means of consumption, arose with the presence of advancing knowledge and technological power. The businessmen in charge of the industry at the time quickly put together that the financial success of mass production, required mass consumption. Consequently, a means for mass communication needed to be devised. And so, advertisement and media, the vehicles and instruments for consumption, were born (Ewen 2).

Is consumerism good? Anyone living in modern day society may think so. We can easily look around and witness all of the conveniences that consumerism grants us. Appliances help to alleviate our work load, electronics nullify any dull moments with instant entertainment, and the latest fashion trends of strictly the top brands allow us to be the envy of our peers. So, is consumerism good? That’s the central question addressed within the essays The Happiness Conspiracy, Needing the Unnecessary, and The Grill-Buying Guide.

Instead of one focusing on a single issue, such as money, we focus on items to simply make everyday life easier. American Consumers lack to focus on the overall effect of the products they buy will have in homes, not to mention in our community. This is one reason we have a consumer based country that leads to many other problems of various origins within the economy. However the controversial topic being determined is whether or not consumerism is for the best. This can be addressed from two views, for instance Juliet Schor speaks of the recent struggle in debt our country has throughout her writings, which in return asks the question, should we really be spending? Schor doesn’t think we shouldn't and it’s been proven that shoppers today may consume as much as twice as of what people only 40 years ago may have. Schor views consumerism to be okay when moderated because you have to buy and sell to create newer societies with a modern appeal. Although this doesn’t mean take away some of the wonderful moments in life, just to go shopping. For instance, four billion square feet of America’s land is simply shopping centers, making it almost impossible to live and teach an independent lifestyle that is necessary when explaining how our country was

Twitchell continues with the argument that there are different kinds of consumers and, “the object of much consumer research is not to try to twist their feathers so that they will flock to your product, but to position your product in such a place that they will have to fly by it and perhaps stop to roost” (Twitchell 183). With that being said, he divides consumers into categories such as: actualizers, fulfilled, believers, achievers, strivers, experiencers, makers, and the strugglers. These consumers range into categories from people who are principle oriented to status driven, and the less fortunate who are driven by their desire to participate. This is a valid argument because not everyone makes the same amount of money, which is a substantial factor in a consumer's decision on what to buy. “Actualizers: These people at the top of the pyramid are the ideal of everyone but advertisers” (Twitchell 184). These kinds of consumers can go out and buy a lamborghini and try to live morally right lives, whereas right across the street there might be a “Struggler: these people are outside the pale of materialism not by choice, but by low income” (Twitchell 185). This kind of consumer is going

Whoever said money can’t buy happiness? Today, the argument can be made that happiness and consumerism are directly linked. It is fair to say that happiness is a relative term for different people. However, the obtaining of new and shiny things has become such a part of everyday life, that it provides happiness when people are purchasing something new, and causes sadness when no buying is taking place. For many, it seems to be a protective coating against the harsh realities of everyday stresses from a job, or family life.