Modern consumerism

By Xue Jang

“What is essential is invisible to the eye.” ―Antoine de Saint Exupery

The times have always changed and unapologetically time waits for no one. Since the 17th century, consumerism has drastically modified the aspect of the accession of a consumer, in terms of purchasing power in the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts, up until the present day.

Most people economize, as a general practice, in managing financial matters. In lieu of this, there are also those who would like to constantly catch up with the times by overspending and exploring a pretentious luxurious life.

Since people are afforded certain inalienable rights such as the pursuit of happiness, every person has the right to pursue any legal activity as long as it does not infringe on the rights of other people. Consumerism as applied in the pursuit of a good life is a global social force dominating people across the boundaries of nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion and social class.

As a central component in 21st century consumerism, imitation or emulation has reached a new peak which brings about and nurtures social differentiation. In general, the average consumer would imitate those who are of higher status in society such as celebrities, politicians and such.

At present, people are more materialistic than ever in any point of history. Everything is within reach by a push of a button or a swipe of a phone/credit card should finances be readily accessible in either cash or credit. The lower class will always endeavor to emulate the wealthy, while the wealthy will always imitate other figures of authority in their respective society or beyond.

The individual consumer wants to attain the status of any higher class to fulfill a certain sense of belonging in a group of higher hierarchy. In the process, one then pretends to be one who is actually not. The sense of belongingness to be a distinctive part of a higher class is a hunger that most people want to nourish and fulfill.

The eventual result is either a shunning away of the individual or acceptance in the group. The effort or investment may not be enough to gain the targeted social status for the former and by buying impractical or useless things the possibility of sinking in a black hole of debt may prove inevitable for the latter. At both edges hang in precarious balance a winless situation. Both results are unfavorable and comes with a literal price to pay.

Furthermore, consumerism proves to be a short cut to enter the world of the elite that can only be attained by buying exquisite items in the objective that one may be better than others. As long as one can lead such lifestyle, one feels a sense of belonging at an idea or concept that is actually self-defeating.

Pursuing exquisite items or being poor is neither unacceptable nor wrong. However, should the two factors be combined, it may distort the balance in society by young people having an illusion of heightening their external appearance rather than pursuing something a more meaningful life by neglecting willfully, albeit sometimes unknowingly, other important angles in life which are always essential for self-development.

In some particular cases, a young person may also be lured into a credit trap wherein one may be buried in debt and staggering interest upon the failure to pay. Normally, fresh graduates who land a job within the first year, would seal the vacuum by purchasing all the things they weren't able to afford in their university days.

Some though lose control in money management that they are eventually hooked in a lifestyle that they could hardly maintain or afford. Once reeled in, they are clouded by the judgment that they are better off in quality, in living a lifestyle in comparison to that of their parents or peers.

A prime scenario or example would be one saving several months' salary to buy an item that they could not actually afford under normal circumstances, in order to lead a derivative shadow of a fastidious and luxurious life.

One other reason is the utter need for acceptance and approval by trying to reach illustrious standards of others who are rich or otherwise pretending to be rich and who want to look and feel better than others.

By having attained external luxury, the freshman is disillusioned that happiness is on hand, without having thought of carefully that the feeling of satisfaction in owning material things is fleeting and the need to attain better things than previously owned is a mere shot at an illusional social status.

The essence in the principle of human wants and needs then becomes a vicious lifestyle cycle wherein temporary happiness is grasped or attained only momentarily. The resulting effect does not hold water but only personal emptiness.

Technology has come a long way in the last 100 years and it has brought about the greatest of life's comfort for humans. The improvement of oneself in other pertinent aspects of life such as the innate growth essential for one's mental, physical, spiritual and/or emotional development may suffer in pursuit of material things.

What one actively pursues to own may one day eventually be the one owning the person. Consumerism is a double-sided coin. Just like life in general, we cannot have the best in everything for there are always tradeoffs, but one can always make the best of everything that one has.

Xue Jang (jxue4660@gmail.com) is a student in the MBA course for international business and trade practice at Yeungnam University.