expo

consumerism seems to us a wholly natural way of life

but it is not ''natural'' it is a relatively recent social invention

why did it appear?

what does it involve ?

What is wrong with consumerism ?

CONSUMER SOCIETY

consumer society

what is it ??

Marxist theory explained that the prouction of surplus gave rise to the need and to spend large sums of money on mass produced goods

this all gives rise to modernity and the expected life style in our society

why did it appear ?

-consumerism is a theory of economics that encourage people to buy more ''things'' that they need to be ''happy''

-it also encourages companies to be competitive: if they product is not good theit company won't last long

A society in which people often buy new goods, especially goods that they do not need, and in which a high value is placed on owning many things

PRESENTED BY : MANAL HADRI

NADA TARZI

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION !!!!!

In this booklet, we have not been suggesting that everyone who tries to sell things to others is deliberately manipulating them for evil ends. Nor are we suggesting that consumerism was ‘invented’ by someone with malign intent - it is simply a cultural phenomenon that has emerged over time and that happens to have a powerful influence in our societies and individual lives. We are all born into it and raised with it, therefore it is difficult to blame those who are delivering what the norms of the system say is desirable.

There are however many people who are escaping the hold of consumerism or are questioning the effect it has on our lives. And we suggest that the modern form of consumerism has gone way too far and is taking our lives, hopes and happiness with it.

what is wrong with it ?

There is not necessarily anything morally wrong in buying and selling things, nor even in promoting them (in an honest way and to a certain extent). But the extreme form of consumerism that now dominates the Western world has a number of unpleasant and even potentially dangerous characteristics.

This is as good a reason as any to dislike it! Advertising, selling and product placement is simply an annoying imposition on one’s peace and personal space. Advertising is everywhere, and spoils many experiences and pleasant views. It is like having a stranger following you and shouting at you for several hours a day.

It is intrusive

• Both advertising and consumerism itself try to manipulate us into adopting a particular view of how we should live rather than letting us decide for ourselves. -

It is manipulative

economic markets and consumption can fulfil some of our basic needs – including areas such as food and shelter - but there are other important things they simply cannot provide. The paper’s author, Richard Reeves, describes these things as ‘non-market goods’. As he notes:

“There is little wrong with Faberge or Furbys. It is what [they are] failing to give us: companionship, time for reflection, spirituality, security, intellectual development and joy in our children”

It does not meet our needs

It restricts our choices and lives

Even if consumerism did meet our needs it would not be an acceptable philosophy on which to base our societies because we need to be able to choose the lives we want to lead and it prevents us from doing this.

It affects our worldviews and characters

Consumerism does not just restrict our choices. It is also a significant influence on our perspectives on the world. For example, if we are spending much of our time and energy seeking the next product or activity to consume then we have less time and enthusiasm to learn about the world or broaden our horizons. Also, consumerism is unlikely to prompt us (or make it easy for us) to question important things such as the availability of the resources that maintain our lifestyles, the capacity of the planet to hold the waste we generate or the vulnerability of the centralized, import-reliant food supply systems we currently use.

It is unsustainable

We live on a planet with a rapidly growing population (6.7 billion people and counting) and a finite set of natural resources for this population to consume. We’ve moved from using around half the planet’s biocapacity in 1961 to over 1.25 times it in 2003. We are already living way beyond the planet’s limits.

Exercise intellectual independence - be aware of how consumerism touches your life and when people or organisations are trying to manipulate you. Try to defend yourself from unwanted external pressures. One effective way to do this is to simply ignore advertising – don’t let it affect you or take up any of your time or brain space. Avoidance is one strategy, but it is also important to build up the intellectual independence to deal with consumerism. When you receive any message, whether it is in a social conversation, at work, in a newspaper, or on television, consider the source it came from and whether it might have a particular agenda. Decide whether you can trust it and whether you should make any allowances for it in your interpretation of the message. You can then choose whether the message is to be digested or ignored. You can apply this questioning approach beyond specific messages such as advertisements to challenge even broader cultural or social beliefs such as the importance of striving for greater material wealth. -

What can we do about it?

Changes we can make to our own lives

changes in society will not happen overnight. There are however some immediate steps we can each take in our own lives to release ourselves from the grip of consumerism, and to start living the lives we really want.

Consume less, live more - take some time to stand back from your life, away from influences like consumerism, and think about what really matters to you in life and how you want to live. Then, try to live the life you want, not the one that others would like you to lead. For many of us, a life of consumerism and constantly striving to gain further material wealth is not the one we would choose upon honest reflection. Many of us will find that reducing our levels of consumption, caring less about materialism and refocusing our attention and time towards things that really matter to us will eliminate a lot of problems in our lives and give us a great deal more satisfaction, whilst also leading to a more sustainable and fair future for all. f

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS IMPACTING CONSUMERISM

bigger voice =more power

Social media has brought about change in the way that people connect to one another, by bridging time, distance and creating virtual communities. Another key note is the amount of power and the voice that social media platforms have given to consumers. People no longer rely on mainstream channels to voice complaints or to reach out to senior stakeholders to address matters with brands or organisations. With just a click of a button, a brand’s reputation could easily go south as negative consumer feedback can instantly go viral and be genuinely damaging. It is not social media itself that influences consumer behaviour, but the ability to be heard and command attention. Brands are no longer the only entities that hold power through advertising, but consumers now have a say in the way that brands relate to them. Brands that are able to use this to best connect with consumers in a way that empowers them and values them are winning in the marketplace.

The Chooser

Choice is a core value at the heart of consumer capitalism. The underlying rationale is ‘the more choice the better’ for consumers, the economy and society. But it has its limitations. Choice without information is not real choice, yet how can consumers get all the facts they need? Choice is also not absolute. ‘I choose to drive to the supermarket in my car’ can close off other options such as: ‘I choose to buy all my food from locally owned shops I can walk to’. Much so-called ‘consumer choice’ boils down to relative trivialities, compared to matters of life and death, political and civil rights, or the future of the planet. Surely choice should not just be a matter of which product to select, but also of whether and how to consume.

The Rebel

The Activist

A long tradition of individual and collective consumer activism across the world has taken many forms: campaigns, legal cases, education, whistle-blowing, direct action. The Irish gave the ‘boycott’ its name, but Americans practised it much earlier against the British in the struggle for independence, as did the people of the Indian sub-continent following Gandhi’s lead. The 20th century co-operative movement enabled some consumers to take control of production. In the US, consumer advocate Ralph Nader rallied activists to fight against corporate greed. Today a new wave is bringing together different existing strands of activism and trying to restructure consumption completely, on more ethical and ecological grounds, exposing and rejecting exploitative conditions, unfair trading relationships, pollution and waste.

CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

Unfortunately what makes consumerism advantageous for producers and shareholders also makes it disadvantageous for workers, consumers, the environment and just about everything else.

Consumer loyalty is a valuable thing to have but never has it been more valuable than in the era of social networks. Whereas previously one could only share their love for a brand with their friends, family and possibly colleagues, now they can endorse a product or brand on social media and reach a great multitude of other users. With the average Facebook user having more than 200 friends, it goes without saying that a brand’s popularity or lack thereof, can easily be spun on social media. Therefore, securing brand loyalty will not only result in a happy customer, but they are more likely to share it with their friends and mutual friends.

customer loyalty and advertising

A million thoughts per second

It is needless to say that we live in a fast-paced world, where everything is swift, fast foods, fast cars, everything is just racing to get somewhere or do something. Consumer behaviour has also been influenced by this hence consumers’ need for instant gratification even when it comes to consumption behaviour. This is not only as a result of people usually having a million things in their mind but also the need to be able to perform a million things at once in order to keep up. People are stimulated in so many ways and from so many angles, that there is barely any devoted time to a single task these days. This also means that the average concentration span of a consumer has decreased significantly. As such, things need to be short and sweet for users to listen and more importantly they need to cut through the clutter.

A SMALL DEBATE... WHY NOT ?

I CONSUME, SO I EXIST? Have you ever made yourself this question?