How good is consumerism?

What is consumerism?

Consumerism is a term used to describe the effects of equating personal happiness with purchasing material possessions and consumption.

Consumers worldwide are not the same, and the differences in consumer behavior between countries are increasing. Because all aspects of consumer behavior are culture-bound, and not subject merely to environmental factors but integrated in all of human behavior, there is an increased need to identify and understand this integration and its impact on global marketing and advertising.

Proponents in favour of consumerism say that it is the right of every individual or consumer to make a choice; what to buy or when to buy a product or service. When you look at the big brand companies and their hugely financed marketing strategies to sell their products, it becomes clear how the consumers make their choices.

In recent years, there has been some strong criticism against the movement to promote consumerism. Consumerism, as in the case of people purchasing goods or consuming materials in excess of their basic needs, has evoked intense debate in the USA and Europe for various reasons.

Today, in most of the developed countries, many students leave college carrying their student loans with them that will be paid through their gainful employment. They are individuals, individual consumers who start off living a life on credit by brandishing the easily available credit cards. Their commitment to relationships depend on their ability to live the perceived happy lifestyle craving for instant grtification.

These advanced societies are now beginning to realize that happiness doesn't come merely by material possessions alone. Individuals do have the right to make their own choices in what they buy or don't buy or in how they want to live their lives. But individuals must also be mindful not to create unsolvable problems for future generations. Their excessive and unwarranted use of limited environmental resources or by the radical ideas such as to allow children to be borne out of cohabitation without the commitment of marriage and parenthood leaves profound problems for future generations.