POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES OF CONSUMERISM

As society has become increasingly materialistic, people aspire to earn more money. When they have the invisible power of money, they cannot give up wanting a bigger house or a better car. In fact, of the 7 billion people in the world, the money-grabbing side connects wealth and material possessions with happiness and success. As a concrete example, brands like Armani or Mercedes are status symbols while deciding on the characteristics of people. What is more, different societies create some common new desires and needs through advertising, which leads to excessive consumption . Persuading people to buy the latest styles, advertising determines  both the pearls and pitfalls of consumerism.

As for the positives of consumerism, it creates a wide range of products produced by the blue collar workers in the system, which contributes to the decrease in unemployment rates. Apart from the countries that limit consumer decision making, fortunately, there are numerous developing states implementing consumer protection laws. By preserving consumer rights and their safety, poverty is more likely to be reduced in most consumer societies(consumer rights and safety are preserved so poverty is more likely to be…).Consumerism also encourages innovation and creativity in business and has observable effects on the quality of life. We live in a global economy that urges manufacturers to satisfy the expectations and demands of consumers. Raising the awareness of consumers so that they can  choose the consumer friendly products can help conversation efforts also.

On the other hand, when it comes to the drawbacks of consumerism, firstly  nature is damaged further. Owing to the fact that consumerist societies create more waste and use more natural resources, they cause huge damage to the environment. What is more, consumerism creates a throw-away culture that causes people not to recognize the danger  of running out of natural resources (they don’t realize the value of the natural resources that are being depleted). By and large, advertisers tell us who we are or what we want and therefore, it is up to them what we buy . Moreover, contrary to common belief, wealth does not spark off happiness and besides this, materialism leads to greed and crime in modern society. By far the most effective way to avoid over consumption is returning  to traditional values such as  sharing .

However, it all takes a little conscience and responsibility. In conjunction with the advantages of consumerism, there would be a gleam of hope here, if people managed  to control their consumer behavior consciously ( Although consumerism has certain advantages, it would be better if people controlled their urge to buy). Consumers should gain an insight into how to effectively reap the benefits of natural resources.