You have probably heard the phrase "the more I buy, the happier I feel". This phrase perfectly sums up consumerism. In this article we are going to explain the consequences of consumerism, which has side effects and has an impact both on the individual and on society. Consumerism is a term used to describe the effects of measuring personal happiness through buying goods and services or general consumption. Excess consumption seriously impacts on our natural resources and ecological balance. Below are some of the negative consequences of consumerism.
One of the negative consequences consumerism at a global scaleis: The damage to the ecological balance as a whole and that currently there are many problems associated with the excessive consumption of natural resources on a global level and that production processes mostly generate pollution.
The impact on an individual level is that, among other things, consumerist people feel unhappy when they can't buy the object or experience they want. But when they get it, they feel just as dissatisfied and unhappy. In addition, consumption is not an adequate or intelligent way to achieve happiness. Try to put these tips into practice to avoid excessive consumerism, you'll feel much better.
Some conditions are specific to consumerist people such as obesity or depression that makes us more likely to believe in misleading advertising, and this type of thinking leads us to believe that we can solve our problem no matter what it is by buying food, drinks, miracle items or other types of products.
Consumerism also has significant consequences for society as a whole. It often leads to the unequal distribution of wealth, since consumers are generally of a lower socioeconomic status than the owners of the companies that create the products that are the object of consumerism. It also affects third World countries by perpetuation poverty, as big companies have their factories there in order to reduce production costs, as they can pay lower wages to their workers.
For all these reasons, we can say that consumerism is unfair, unsupportive and dehumanising. It is unfair and unsupportive both with respect to the majority of humanity who have no access to essential goods and services, and also with regard to future generations, who will find themselves left with an exhausted environment polluted by the consumerist cravings of their predecessors.
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- The most immediate effect of consumerism is a direct impact on the domestic economy, but this is not the only damage it does across society, which falls into the abyss of industrial and energy expenditure.