Just have a look in your house, your closet, your shoe rack, your makeup kit, and see how many things have you used which you think that yes, it was worth the money you paid and also, you have used it efficiently ?
Source – Pinterest
How often you just opened a shopping app during a Christmas or diwali sale, where you were not in need of anything for real, but that window shopping and that “80% off or Buy one get 2 free” thing made you fill your cart and made a delivery executive reach your door step the very next day ?
Well, here are few things that we do not realise –
1. The rich (corporates) are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
One of the simple analogy is that these big corporates and manufacturers aggressively markets their products, which leads to a slight dopamine (happy hormone) rush in us, and we end up buying things we later realise are no less than garbage. But we can’t do anything then except to regret.
2. WhatsApp, facebook, instagram or any other social media platform can also be blamed for rising consumerism today.
Source – Pinterest
Every one on social media today posts about their expensive possessions, be it a new car, or recent holiday, or a house, or LV bag, or having dinner in best hotel of the country, and then posting about it, is not wrong, but the one who could not afford it would get jealous and depressed that why am I not in this person’s place and the one who could afford it but did not need it at all would end up getting it or even more priced item just to show it off and post stories about it.
3. Corporates are making you spend more in so many different ways. I was once watching a documentary about the most famous 7 star hotel of india, wherein, the manager of the BAR in the hotel, was discussing with the chefs to make the snacks to be served in the bar more salty, so that people consume more alcohol.
The outlets are now designed in such a way so that people spend more time there. Like introducing a kids play area so that parents can concentrate on shopping, the aroma in the stores of Starbucks or sephora makes us be there for a little more time so that we may roam in the store and may end up buying few extra products.
Source – Pinterest
Similarly, the grocerie malls like Costco, etc have designed their malls in such a way that people will have to roam around the store to get the product of their need, so that, while roaming around, they may also purchase extra goods that are coming their way, although it is not mentioned in their grocerie list. This is how they makes us spend more.
Stores like IKEA have food courts within them so that people coming with families spend more time in the outlet, so even if you just came to have some tasty food in food court and you had no plans to purchase anything, the moment you would see other people having some shopping bags in their hands, chances are that you would most likely pay a visit at their home furnishing area !!
If you have say 3 different handbags and those are more then enough for your office and party needs, and say that your friends have seen all of them, and now for instance there’s a party coming next weekend, most likely you would either buy a new bag as the other 3 have already been seen by those group of friends of yours or you would borrow a bag from another friend of a different friend circle or your cousin to just show off, and would pretend as if it’s your own bag.
It’s a high time now, with rising of extreme consumerism, we are creating a problem of pollution, depleting scarce resources, creating feeling of jealousy, envy, anxiety, depression.
Your comments would be appreciated. Bye.!!
rupalgarg 