A Perspective on Life as a Consumer |
I've never given much thought to the way of life that surrounds me, I've always just went along with it. As a pre-teen I would spend my days at the mall with my friends and spend too much money that I now know I should've saved. Our world revolves around businesses, the latest fashion, and the coolest places to eat. All of these things are presented to us through ads we see in magazines or commercials on TV. I realize now that being a consumer is one of my jobs on the planet, and that's pretty sad.
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I chose to write this little blog, or rant as some may think, to express how blind we are to the consumerism tricks presented in our lives. Decisions we make on what to wear and where to eat are all influenced from ads we've seen. Up until recently when I wrote the paper on the influence technology has on our lives, I didn't fully realize my role as a consumer. Technology plays a part in our consumerism lives in the way that it is most of our access to the countless ads and commercials that interrupt our technology usage. There are even advertisements on the latest technology we can own! It's an endless cycle of purchasing, using, losing interest, then purchasing something else. My thought is, will it ever end?
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Obviously it's impossible to imagine a world with no means of consumption, mostly because that world is impossible. No one would have jobs, clothes, money, food or basically anything. My point here is are we even aware of our consuming habits, or do we just accept this way of life? In my opinion, most Americans give into the tempting ads and let them influence their decision making. To be fair, I enjoy shopping as much as any girl my age. The scary part of this consumerism world is that we, the ones purchasing endless products, are the cause of this cycle. If we stopped buying excessive items, there would be no point in creating brainwashing ads to sell us products that ultimately we don't need. And what happens to those products we lost interest in? They wind up in landfills that pollute our country, our planet, and our lives. American's consuming habits are detrimental to our humans, yet we are completely oblivious to it.
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This is just a friendly reminder to think twice before purchasing that new handbag or the new iPhone 7, do you really need it?
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