Яна Сергунина

Human Values in the Age of Consumerism

Do you eat to live? Or do you live to have the possibility to consume food? These questions do not require answers. The notion of consumerism has settled down in our life. The issue is how far it has gone and to what extent you are obsessed with consumerism.

To begin with, it is essential to define the term “consumerism” as it concerns community. Consumer society is grounded on the cardinal virtue (unfortunately, not one of temperance) of transferring profusion and luxury into day-to-day consumption. But for all that, the very nature of consumption has changed.

The cult of consumerism has penetrated deep into the contemporary person’s life. People are judged by their clothing and entourage, which have become the symbols and means of such a society’s existence. In today’s world one appreciates not originality - of an object, or an individual outlook – but quite the contrary, profitability as the demonstrated value of something. Mass consumer society has a consumptive mind.

This essay will consider the problem with relation to culture, psychology and sociology. It will also try to discuss peculiar, but still common, traits inherent to present-day society.

There is a specific principle that society and human nature are arranged by: everybody needs to be distinguished and noticed. One tries to meet with social approval and distinguish oneself as an individual. Therefore people use the simplest way to win recognition, which is called consumerism. Things or goods chosen by a person speak for themselves and are evaluated positively by those surrounding him or her. Consequently, the person himself is admired and envied. The natural human desire to be recognized by society incites people to follow – consciously and subconsciously – the tastes of the society and to tolerate the fancies and wants of the featureless bulk of the majority.

At this point it can be inferred that consumer society and mass culture are part and parcel. Mass culture stereotypes people’s behaviour and thinking. Radio, TV, the press, the film industry and advertising are the factors moulding people’s minds and imposing a definite lifestyle on them. Now one can see that in pursuit of individuality, by purchasing any fashionable goods, the individual conversely becomes similar to others. Herein lies the main paradox of consumerism: uniformity and conformism everywhere! People no longer think on their own, rather they choose from what is offered and what is already based on the average consumer’s preferences.

There is no profitability for mass culture in producing something that makes no money. For instance, an educational function is not performed. This kind of culture provokes nothing but surface emotions and low instincts. It does not make people use their intellectual faculties.

First of all, this definition refers to advertising. Commercials create more than the world of goods but also symbols, signs and brands, which extend to real life and ensure the creation of so-called consumptive psychology. Following uncomplicated “guide rules,” coming from the glossy pages of popular magazines and TV screens, one tries to behave identically to what one has read or seen. This gives an individual a feeling of safety and self-confidence. Attempting to avoid loneliness and to join society, in other words, conformism is reached by the most available means of consumerism.

“Wassup!!!” is a wide-spread phrase all around the world. What is less well known is that this exclamation, possessing evaluated connotation, became popular after it was used in a Budweiser advertisement. “Wassup!!!” instead of “what’s up?” marks out the speaker, making him special as Budweiser beer, not some other, does. At least, this is what the consumers believe.

Modern society is composed mostly of those people who consider the opinion of the others about them very precious.

The recent research of American psychologists confirms this idea. The overwhelming majority of people living in metropolises are affected by the “monkey mind virus”. This disease causes a steady urge to imitate somebody more successful.

As we have observed, consumerism in its direct function deals not only with the outer aspects of our life – mannerism, tastes and entertainment – but also with inner human life, or human values. Thus mass culture, embracing all the spheres of human existence, forms new ideals and values, new attitudes to reality, based mainly on the consumer moral.

As a consequence, the individual turns out to be incapable of making a decision independently. He is influenced by popular stereotypes. The high consumptive activity of the population simply depends on the championship of approbation, and not freedom, in the priorities of the modern person.

This way is deceptive, though. One strives to improve one’s life by means of buying something. But it is a well-known fact that the need for consumption can never be saturated or satisfied. It is just another kind of addiction and not simple money wasting. So, consuming belongs to the symbolical level.

Such a chase of illusory possession drives the person to a state of frustration. Firstly, one feels a lack of restraint, which corrupts. Propertied interests prevail. The availability reduces people to more selfish and spoiled lifestyles. However, even after obtaining an object, the idea of possession remains unattainable. This condition, in its turn, makes people unable to resist mass pressure. The devaluation of human values is present. People become middling and easily controlled without even being aware of it.

The biggest problem is in a feeble attempt to conceal oneself by lots of objects, which hide one’s personality. Partly, this position is a craven shift of responsibility. The form takes the place of content. Realizing this substitution, people still want something temptingly shaped instead of simple things, which, basically, cannot be abundant.

Since consumption has acquired mass character, it has turned out to be much simpler for a person to succeed with the help of mere consumption. On the one hand, there is no need to apply enormous efforts to make a required impression upon someone. On the other hand, the person himself feels no discomfort in corresponding to his conception of the ideal by using exterior forms of perfection. This harmless self-deception makes people happy, but the problem does not disappear.

Every man taken separately should realize his own consumer consciousness and make his own choice not in favour of voluntary submission and glare, which could not replace real life anyway; it elementary recreates its ugly copy. Everyone should reject even such a sweet sort of slavery.

And don’t lose yourself in the heaps of material objects reflecting the similarly superficial inner world.