Argumentative Essay On Collaborative Consumerism

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Recommended: Consumerism and Materialism in America

Khadija Siddiqua
English 1A
Nicole Cuttler
21 April 2014
Words: 1048
Collaborative Consumerism What I need is not the product, but the experience. This change in consumers has influenced new technologies that have led to the creation of collaborative consumption. Where in corporate consumerism, we care what we consume; the collaborative consumerism is about how we consume. It can also be seen as an increasing possible to terminate ownership and still enjoy the full benefits. So, collaborative consumerism allows us to go beyond the line of the traditional ownership and helps declutter, share, and connect in an eco-friendly way. To the corporate capitalist, the consumers are the target. They try to sell their product …show more content…

"Why buy a drill when I need a hole?", Said Rachel Botsman in a Ted Talk. You do not have to own an item to get the benefits it offers. In this era, ownership is not as important as it was before. We do not need a library to enhance our house rather books to enhance our knowledge. We have to let go the idea of materialism and this is the time. In the article," On sale at Old Navy: Cool clothes for identical zombies!" Damien Cave tries to put light on that trap of materialism, "Survey after survey suggests that people who place a high value on material goods are less happy than those who do not" (270). If a lower price item or a used item can provide me the same advantage as a higher price item, then why do I burden myself? The only thing I should care; it is the usages of the product not the price or the brand of the …show more content…

We can enjoy the advantage of products without owning it. Of course, sharing, swapping, trading is nothing new, but when we all are over-consuming then it can be an option. In an age of always moving on, mobile connectivity, those can be transformed into more powerful and more efficient ways of accessing goods and services. Why do I buy something that I am going to use for once? Alternatively, why do I just throw away my waste to the landfill that someone wants? By reducing what we purchase, we consume less, and therefore, waste less. Need a bike? You can ask someone who can lend you one and now that person is only a click away. There are different websites that are helping us with our spare space, dumped closet or stacked bookrack to deal with. If we are not using those anymore we just do not throw them away, but go to Amazon, EBay or Craigslist to find someone who wants them. This way we can replace our olds with new without wasting our place, money, time and lessening the burden of the environment. It is another alternative to the most classic "reduce, reuse, recycle, repair, and redistribution" methods of dealing with our waste or useless

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