What Does Consumerism Mean?

Consumerism can be defined as a cultural model that promotes the acquisition of goods, and mainly the purchases of products, which can be seen as a channel for personal satisfaction and economic stimulation. In a consumerist society, an individual dedicates all of its strength to thinking and spending on "consumption." The reason is that because our happiness is focused on consumption and ownership. The overall view of life-based in the context of consumption is that the more we consume, the better life becomes. The idea of shopping is an exciting recreational activity for the majority of the people. Based on the article, What Does Consumerism Mean, "rather than cultivating happiness, consumerism is fueled by and cultivates fear -- fear of not fitting in, of not having the right stuff, of not being the right kind of person. Perpetual non-satisfaction defines consumerism." As humans, we desire to have the latest and the best to fit in, to surpass others. Our primary drive for desires, passions, and wishes is to acquire more consumer goods to reflect what happens in society solely.

Consumerism is established on planned and perceived obsolescence.

Planned obsolescence is acknowledged as the "designed for the dump," planned out- marketing strategy. This strategy is employed by companies to intentionally produce a product that is non-functional and outdated for a short time to convince buyers to drop the product even though it is operating well. Perceived obsolescence is when a buyer believes they need an updated version of the previous generation or model. For example, Apple iPhone or any other smartphone manufacturers dump $1,000 phone into the market; individuals believe they need to get their hands on the latest iPhone because of the wider screen, improved features, and more extended- lasting

battery.
In today’s society, advertising plays a pivotal role in marketing, in which we can observe a real competition between different brands and enterprises. The process of marketing involves analysis and research of the consumer’s feedback on products, and to develop designs that will have great significance to the audience. The term, advertising can be defined as a communication tool that influences consumers to purchase certain products and services. To promote products and services, advertising is the only method that can help companies stand out from other and to be noticed. Advertising techniques have changed over time, in which now there is an increasing amount of advertisements in the digital world. Many ads are found in newspapers, magazines, billboard, internet, T.V., or posters, etc. Advertising attempts to provide relevant information about products and services competently and profitably. In my opinion, advertising influences an individual’s behavior negatively because individuals are encouraged to purchase products that have absolutely no relevance to everyday life. Even though companies benefit from advertisements, as it increases their sales and profits, on the contrary, advertising is deceptive. Advertising displays misleading information, endorses negative values, false allegations, and psychological persuasion on consumers. For instance, Splenda advertised their product as, “Made from sugar, so it tastes just like sugar.” This is misleading information because Splenda isn’t made from sugar, but, it is made of highly-processed chemical compounds called sucralose, which is created in the laboratory. I believe that advertisers should provide factual information about the products and services to the buyers, to create a sense of trust between them. In the present day, it is impossible to operate a business without the help of advertisements.