I was watching YouTube on my TV like every other day when a series of ads popped up before the video even started. Yes, I’m a non-premium user 🙂
The first ad was from Amazon, showing how you could buy the best brands at the best prices with the image of a razor blade. The second ad was from a company offering personal loans for vacations, cars, or whatever you might need.
Seeing both ads one after the other made my brain click. It’s like they want us to buy things we don’t even want or haven’t thought about, yet they also suggest getting into debt to buy this year’s iPhone or go to the Bahamas all-inclusive… even if you can’t afford it!
It’s like they implant this idea into your head that you really need what they’re advertising, that you deserve it. Personally, I have my doubts, and of course, that’s what advertising is all about: to create needs out of nowhere, out of thin air.
The amount of consumerism-related advertising shown in our everyday life is scary, and how easy it has become to buy new stuff you didn’t even want is equally scary. I’m guessing that, from an economic point of view, governments and companies promote people to spend what they earn since that will result in higher revenues for private companies and also bigger VAT collections for the institutions.
I feel like consumerism is one of those silent plagues that has spread throughout society, and most people haven’t noticed yet. Those invisible psychological signals that promote spending rather than saving or investing can be really dangerous for people of my generation (Gen Z), who are heavily impacted by social media and the internet, and may have higher trust in digital media than any other generation in the past.
Personally, I try to be very frugal with the stuff I buy or want. Why would I want the latest iPhone for $1,300? Or the new PS5 Pro for $800? To show off? Remember that status is a zero-sum game, it won’t help anyone that you have the latest iPhone and someone else doesn’t… and it might even create friction or jealous feelings between you and the other person if you continue to brag about it.
However, that doesn’t mean I don’t have my own whims from time to time, but I like to think deeply about whether that’s a good choice or a dumb impulsive choice.
I might as well cite old Buddhist quotes like “Desire is the cause of all suffering,” which, for this topic, means that desiring all that you see in ads and on TV can do you more harm than good.
Stay away from consumerism and think twice about your decisions—it can go a long way.