“I just have to get that Starbucks bear cup.” “I need the new Stanley to add to my collection.” “I need more Labubus!”
Consumerism is an increasingly growing trend that captivates society with consumer products. From Labubus to holiday Starbucks bear cups, people continuously feel the need to buy items they simply do not need.
That doesn’t mean spending money is always bad. Students will often spend money at fundraisers and bake sales to support different clubs and causes.
According to Canadian educator and writer Professor Jiang Xuegin, consumerism creates a competition for admiration in society. We often see the world with the view of wealth or capital.
We’re in school so we can be educated. We get educated to get a good job. We get a good job so we can make good money. We make good money so we can buy things.
While consumerism can lead to economic growth and higher incomes, it does more harm than good. Especially during the holiday season, many people buy things they simply don’t need. No one actually needs ten different versions of the same cup.
Some may think consumerism doesn’t matter. It’s someone’s choice what they do with their money. Yet, when holidays come around and people get multiple versions of one product they don’t need, the transportation and disposal of these goods affects climate change.
Business and consumer education teacher, Breanna Roti, says how consumerism keeps the economy going and can improve an individual’s everyday life.
“This holiday season, you’ll see a lot more ads or maybe partnerships trying to sell more products to get more revenue,” Roti said.
She mentions how age range plays a part. Products are pushed out on social media such as TikTok, targeting teenagers.
Oftentimes when we buy so many of one product it’s because it’s trending online. Well, most trends don’t last. We’ll buy so many of one product that they won’t use, and it’ll either end up in the trash or unused, taking up space.
“There are some cons where maybe they take the risk in buying the product, and it doesn’t even help their life, is a waste of space, and a waste of money,” Roti said.
When you see people on social media with wide varieties of consumer goods to choose from, it creates an unrealistic standard that a lot of people can’t afford.
Influencers will convince people to go get one product because it’s amazing. Eventually, there’s a new version of the same product that they’ll again convince people to get.
Videos of packing Stanley’s, or doing a fridge restock where a person takes food out of the packaging to put it into a custom container is not normal and has no benefit. There is no real joy that comes from it other than the chase to be aesthetically pleasing.
Before you have a shopping spree to do a haul, just take a moment to think if you really need it. Do you need eight different colors of the same product? Do you actually want to buy all these things? Does your purchase make you happy?