Humanity has always needed to consume or spend energy, products, services and goods, it is a natural and essential action of daily life, but when a person or group of people consumes and spends more than normal or even accumulates goods and services that are not necessary, it falls into the concept of what consumerism is.
At this time, many people have fallen into extreme consumerism, not only spending what is necessary for day to day, but reaching the point of accumulating and hoarding goods and services that are not necessary or essential. For this reason, in this article we will explain in detail what consumerism is, the causes and the consequences so that you can use the term well.
What do you need:
- The definition of consumerism.
- Characteristics of a consumer person.
- Types of consumer people.
- The causes of consumerism.
- The consequences of consumerism.
- Tips to avoid consumerism.
Definition
The word Consumerism is defined as the action of spending more than necessary on products, goods and services, even compulsively accumulating them without needing them. This word is usually associated with the indiscriminate spending of goods, products and services, also when consuming without need, when consuming for pleasure or even compulsive consumption.
Characteristics of a person who falls into consumerism
A person who falls into consumerism or who is a consumer usually shows various characteristics and tendencies, apart from only buying and buying things that are not entirely necessary, among them you can notice:
- They are people who stay connected to the Internet , social networks and the news to stay informed about the products and services that you are interested in buying.
- They usually have mechanisms and forms of payment of all kinds, especially online purchase methods and instant payment,
- Consumers often look for the new and innovative, easily throwing away what they have to replace it with something newer or with better features.
- Many focus on and generate loyalty towards a specific product, service or brand, which is why they tend to purchase these products and services in order to express their personality or style.
- Consumers often hoard products even when they don’t need them.
- Many consumers tend to buy for the pleasure of acquiring new things and for the happiness it brings them, not just buying out of necessity or to satisfy a desire.
- Compulsive consumers buy and spend whenever they feel the urge to do so, when they have the money and the opportunity, without having a real need.
- Consumers also tend to look for products and services that provide them with new experiences and sensations, so they tend to buy and spend unnecessary things out of curiosity or because of the novelty of the product and service.
Types of consumer people
Consumers can be divided into clear types, according to the reason for their consumption and their characteristics, among which we can differentiate are:
- The personal consumer. The most common consumer is one who buys for himself and for those around him, for that reason he buys and spends thinking about him, what he likes and what he needs,
- The business consumer. It is the person who belongs to a company or organization and who falls into consumerism, usually wanting to buy the products that are needed in large quantities even when they are not necessary.
- The experiential consumer. It is that consumer who usually purchases products out of curiosity or in order to experience new sensations, also to find a product or service that suits their tastes or needs, so they can easily purchase, spend and change products.
- The compulsive consumer. He is the one who buys and spends whenever he can and has the opportunity, he is motivated by the desire to buy for pleasure or even buys and spends on impulse.
The causes of consumerism
Consumerism arises when the person stops looking for only the products, services and goods that they need to live and concentrates on acquiring them with the aim of satisfying desires, which are often selfish. Currently, consumerism is also caused by the social influence exerted on people, where people seek goods and services in order to be accepted. Other possible causes include:
- Mainly we find the belief that accumulating goods and services brings lasting happiness and the feeling of personal success. This is associated with the influence exerted by society to achieve social status and to be accepted in a social group.
- Advertising is another factor that has contributed to consumerism because it promotes the acquisition and consumption of products, goods and services as a method of satisfying a desire, instead of buying only what is necessary.
- Low-quality and short-lived products also promote constant purchase, many times it is necessary to change products for new ones since they usually fail or expire in a relatively short time. Even many people buy and accumulate large quantities of the same product because they know that the product does not last long.
- Globalization has allowed many people to acquire products that were previously difficult to acquire, the ease and comfort with which the acquisition is made has motivated people to buy more and in larger quantities.
- The culture of recycling and sustainable development has been forgotten and left behind, many people acquire and spend indiscriminately without thinking about the possibility of recycling the products. It is even often thought that it is easier to change or dispose of a product than to recycle it.
The consequences of consumerism
The consequences of the consumer culture that began in the 20th century are already clearly seen, especially due to the negative impact it has had on the environment, an impact that has caused global pollution that affects us all directly and indirectly, including The other consequences that we can highlight are:
- One of the negative consequences of consumerism can be seen on a personal level, when the person feels bad for not being able to buy what they want or even when they buy and consume it, and even so they cannot experience the happiness they were looking for and wanted.
- Consumerism also negatively affects a person’s health and is generally the cause of obesity and depression. Many people get carried away by advertising and buy products that promise to bring satisfaction, when the truth is that it produces the opposite.
- Regarding the social, consumerism unbalances the distribution of wealth, causing people to have more wealth than others. In general, sellers tend to accumulate wealth and often take advantage of the consumer trend.
Tips
If you are looking for tips to avoid consumerism, the first thing you should do is think about the consequences that this trend brings with it, then the tips that can help you are:
- Mainly, exercise self-control when you go shopping and think: Do I really need it?
- Reflect and remember that buying and spending a lot will not bring you lasting happiness, it will only cause anxiety and lead to countless debts.
- Seek help and involve someone who you think can help you control yourself.
- Do not get carried away by advertising, fashion or curiosity to try new things.
You already know what consumerism is, we hope we have helped you clarify your doubts and expand your knowledge about this word.