Introduction
Consumerism refers to the process by which individuals acquire new goods and services without making some important considerations. Some of these considerations that the consumers do not mind are their need for the product and the durability of the product. They also do not mind the effects of the manufacture and disposal of the product to the environment. Companies spend huge sums of money to advertise their products so as to create a desire for the product by the consumers. The advertisements convince the consumers that the products are very important and that it is very beneficial for them to acquire the products. Those who acquire the products are convinced that they have made an achievement. Consumerism leads to materialism where consumers are preoccupied with the acquisition of material objects, comforts and considerations and have no concern on the spiritual, intellectual, and cultural values. Consumerism has many effects on the society. The common trends of buying adequate supply of life’s necessities, community life, a stable family and healthy relationships changes to a situation where individuals have a great desire for new things and the money to buy them with little or no concern on the utility of the new products. The individuals and organizations that benefit from consumerism encourage individuals to discard old products either because they are not durable or because their fashion is old and outdated. Consumerism is the principle cause of many negative issues in the environment. It leads to pollution and depletion of natural resources. Consumerism has many effects on the health of consumers. The attitudes of the public to food and food supplements affect their health in a great way. Consumerism leads to the society demanding health services instead of accepting what is already available. Politicians and the media play great roles in promoting consumption. Consumerism has many effects on the society, environment, and the health of consumers and politicians and the media play a major role in promoting consumption.
Effects of Consumerism on the Society
Society is one of the fields that have heavily been affected by consumerism. Consumerism causes individuals to spend money on issues that are not necessary. Individuals tend to spend much money in buying goods of dubious value and little social return instead of spending the money in social capital such as education, housing, nutrition and others (Shukla 2). The consumer pays more money for the new products whose prices are higher so as to perceive the consumers that they are very important. Many individuals acquire the products on credit which is very expensive. When one purchases a new product like an automobile, he or she spends extra money in registration, insurance, repair, maintenance, and others. The increased demand for new products have increased competition among manufacturers and new products are emerging every day. The consumers on the other hand continue spending more money in buying the new products that are in fashion. Eventually, the rooms available in many homes are inadequate to hold all the products that the owners of the homes buy. New purchases lead to orphaned and unwanted things in many homes. This leads to wastage of good land can be used for farming. Warehouses are built in the land to store the extra products that the consumers do not use in their homes. As a result of consumerism, much money and other resources are wasted.
Consumerism affects the interaction between individuals in a society. The quest for more money to acquire material things preoccupies individuals to the extent that they have no time for other individuals in the society (Shukla 4). Spiritual values are underplayed where individuals no longer attend churches and to not see the importance of attending the money. Community gatherings have also been neglected for individuals go out to look for money to help them acquire material things. People have no time for their neighbors and do not even mind knowing their names because taking interest in them wastes time that could be used to acquire more money. Parents have no time for their children and end up employing baby sitters to cater for the children. Day care and rest homes have been charged with the responsibility of providing wisdom and tradition to the young children. Parents to the children are engaged in activities that can help them earn more money. The quality of products that individuals possess determines their class. They interact with those who belong to their class. This leads to discrimination of the less fortunate and those who cannot afford expensive products. As a result, personal relationships are affected and interactions reduce because everyone in the society is busy looking for money.
Consumerism has affected the lifestyles of people in society. People no longer focus on simplicity but concentrates on life that is more lavish and full of material comforts (Shukla 6). Individuals have come to believe that their lives will only be possible if they attain some products that they have not yet acquired so far. Instead of living in a healthy balanced society, individuals are turning themselves into human consumer goods. Many people are engaged in issues such as weight training, cosmetic surgery, breast reduction, diet centers, permanent eye make-up, collagen injections and others. Individuals spend a lot of money in trying to become what they are not.
Consumerism leads to an increase in crime rates. Today, a developed society is known by the material wealth of the individuals in it. This poses many dangers on the lives of many people. It leads to consumerism which in turn increases people’s desires and wants for goods. The people not only want to possess goods but expensive goods. Many cannot afford these expensive goods and they end up planning on how to illegally acquire them from the ones who have them. Theft cases and daytime robberies increase. Envy and jealousy are also likely to lead to crime (Shukla 9). Consumerism leads to a new form of business where criminals steal expensive products and sell them at lower costs to other people. This happens so that they can quest their thirst for money that can help them acquire other goods and services. As a result of consumerism, many individuals have purchased personal cars which they use in their activities. This has led to the erosion of public transport meaning that the individuals who earned their living in the department have lost their jobs. Such individuals may turn into criminal activities if they lack some other means of meeting their needs. In general, consumerism leads to criminal activities.
Effects on Consumerism on the Environment
Consumerism has led to an increase in consumer demand leading to pollution of the environment (Chilongo 2). The first form pollution is the pollution of the water and the skies. Most of the products that consumers purchase are wrapped. Many companies wrap their products using plastic bags. When an individual buys a commodity that is wrapped with a plastic paper, he or she does mind the method of disposal that he or she uses but just thinks about the product itself. The plastic bags are thrown anywhere and they gat washed into the water ways. Animals that live in the waters may get caught up in the plastic bags and suffocate. The plastic bags in wrapping products take a very long period of time to decay. Disposing them into the environment affects the plants. Consumerism has led to the acquisition of many automobiles by individuals. A large percentage of individuals in the United States own personal vehicles. This is very dangerous to the environment. The automobiles use fuel that is a major cause of pollution. When the fuel burns, poisonous gas such as carbon monoxide is released into the environment. The gas is very harmful to the health of a human being and may even lead to death if taken in large quantities.
Consumerism causes depletion in the natural resources of a country (Chilongo 3). An increased use of automobile means an increased demand for fuel. The fuel that the machines use is extracted from the earth. The mines can run out of fuel leading to an economic downturn in the specific country. An increase in food consumption also affects the environment in that the amount of land needed to produce the foods is quite large and the land available may not meet the needs of the consumers. Farmers are at times forced to farm continuously without giving the land any breaks. The land deteriorates and the production keeps on reducing because it gets exhausted. The amount of water needed to farm and feed livestock so as to meet the needs of the consumers is a lot. Excessive use of water for farming and livestock may lead to a reduction of water supply in some places especially those individuals that live in the lower parts of sources of water. Digging of bore holes to increase the amount of water available for farming leads to drying of rivers that are major sources of supply. Natural resources keep on depleting as a result of consumerism.
Consumerism has negative effects on the ecology. So as to produce more goods and services that meet the demand of the consumers, natural habitat is being destroyed (Chilongo 3). The habitat is not being replaced but keeps on deteriorating. This affects the environment in general. The natural habitat is also destroyed when some space is needed for people to construct some buildings. This reduces the amount of land available for farming and also is a destruction of the natural environment. The industries that are being constructed to produce more goods not only consume space but emit gases that pollute the environment. Consumerism is a major cause of global warming.
Effects of Consumerism on Health
Consumerism is a major cause of health problems to many individuals. As stated before, consumerism increases individuals’ desires and needs. Some individuals do not have the capacity to meet these needs regardless of their efforts. Some people work under great tensions but cannot meet their desires. This leads to situations of stress that eventually lead to depression (Mayell 4). The individuals who have enough money to meet their needs end up consuming fatty foods and in excess. They consume every type of food that is shown to have value and healthy. Such people get obsessed for accumulation of sugars in their bodies. In a bid to maintain good shapes and figures, people spend much money on injections, surgery, and others. These may cause cancer which leads to death. The more the goods produced to meet the demands of the customers, the more the emissions that are made in the industries. Consumption of these harmful emissions from industries and others by automobiles also affects the health of individuals. Consumerism affects the health of many in a negative way.
Role of Politicians and the Media in Promoting Consumption
The media and politicians play a role in promoting consumption. The media promotes consumerism in its process of advertising for products. Many organizations spend much money to advertise their products in the media. This is done in newspapers, radios, newspapers, magazines, billboards, and many others. The media persuades the audience that the product is very effective and meets all the needs of the consumers (Micheletti, Follesdal and Stolle 45). The media gives the name of the product and shows the audience how the product or service could benefit the audience. This way, the media convinces potential customers to go for the specific brand. The media shows the audience that the product or service meets their demands. It also creates a picture in the minds of the consumer that this is the best brand compared to all other brands in the market. When the media convinces customers that a brand is of great value, potential customers will go for it regardless of whether they need it or not. They just want to possess new products that are of great value. Those who do not have money to purchase the product will start working hard so as to purchase it. The media also creates envy on the consumer which increases the demand for the product. This way, many individuals buy many goods and services that are not necessary in their lives. Politicians on the other hand promote consumption in that their views concerning a product are believed to be true by the consumers (Micheletti, Follesdal and Stolle 213). If a politician allows a product to be sold in his or her state or uses the product, the consumers will believe that the product is of high quality. They also would like to be associated with it. Many will go out looking for it even if they have other products which can address the issue that it will come to address.
Controlling Consumerism
Consumerism has become very common and something needs to be done so as to control it. The first important is educating individuals on the effects of consumerism on the environment and the society in general. Informing individuals on the dangers on consuming everything that they view being advertised would help them avoid buying them. Consumers should also be informed of the effects of buying new machines when they already have enough. It is dangerous to the environment. They should be encouraged to spend their money in a way that could benefit society rather than destroy it. Spending the money in social capital such as education would benefit the entire society. Consumers should be informed to avoid buying new products especially if they are not necessary in their lives. They should be informed that the picture of the products that the media portrays is not always the truth. Organizations make advertisements so as to increase their competitive advantage and revenue. When one really needs something, they should borrow or buy a used one so that the ones that are already in there can be utilized. The only new products that should be include hygiene products, utilitarian services, medicines, art supplies, and others. This way consumerism can be controlled.
Conclusion
Consumerism has many effects on the society, environment, and the health of consumers and politicians and the media play a major role in promoting consumption. This is because consumers buy the products just because they are new and not because they really need them. Individuals concentrate on acquiring new products and the money to acquire them. Beneficiaries of consumerism encourage individuals to discard old products and acquire new ones so as to keep up with fashion. Consumerism has many effects on society. Individuals spend much money buying goods that have dubious value and have little social return. It affects interpersonal relationships and interaction between individuals in the society because everybody concentrates in acquiring money. It changes lifestyles and leads to increased crime rates. Consumerism affects the environment in that it leads to increased use of machines and goods that pollute the environment. It also leads to depletion of natural resources and ecological imbalances. Consumerism affects the health of individuals negatively whereby it causes them to develop complications. The media promotes consumerism through advertisement where it persuades the consumers to purchase a product or service because it is of great benefit to them. Politicians promote consumerism by their views. Consumers need to be educated on the effects of consumerism in order to control it. They should also be encouraged to avoid new things where possible.
Reference
Chilongo, Menezes. The Effects of Consumerism on the Environment. 2010. Web.
Mayell, Hillary. As Consumerism Spreads, Earth Suffers, Study Says. 2004. Web.
Micheletti, Michele, Follesdal, Andreas and Stolle, Dietlind. Politics, Products, and Markets: Exploring Political Consumerism Past and present. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2004. Print.
Shukla, Amitabh. The Effects of Consumerism. 2009. Web.