I want to touch upon such a burning topic for modern society as conspicuous consumption. To begin with, so that you have a general idea of the subject - a little theory.
Demonstrative consumption is the cost of goods or services with the main goal of achieving or maintaining a certain social status, demonstrating one's own material well-being. The term was introduced by the economist and sociologist T. Veblen in 1899.
The bottom line is simple: a person wants to convey that he is, at least, not worse than the others, showing how much dough he can spend on a non-essential thing. And I'm not talking about psychological deviations like shopaholism, no. I'm talking about perfectly healthy people who are not able to understand with their minds what they need.
And someone may ask: so where is the problem here? Buy and buy what it is. The economy is working. But the tragedy goes a little deeper. Demonstrative consumption is the result of a completely thoughtless, unconscious life. People are not used to analyzing their actions that go beyond the circle of everyday problems. They live on the machine. They do as most people do. And all this is unconscious. Maybe it’s convenient, of course, not stressful - to become a cog in a huge machine, which rushes you don’t understand where. After all, the cog does not think about the direction. Most of the cogs are here, so everything is in order. But I'll tell you a secret: most people can be wrong. And examples of this in the history of mankind in bulk.
Let's get back to the topic. In order not to speak abstractly, let's walk through the main puppeteer - the brand. Brands are perhaps the easiest indicator of consumerism victimization. Whether it's clothing, accessories, gadgets or cars, the essence remains the same: the more expensive the brand, the better. But what is “better”? A friend of mine recently said:
- I'd rather pay a little extra and buy a thing that won't be demolished than something that will fall apart in a month. Therefore, now I am saving up for sneakers for 30k.
I almost got my eyes on my forehead. Undoubtedly, things are brought to our country from only two factories. On one of the clothes, the best designers of the planet sew by hand, on the other, half-starved Asian children rivet robes from moss and leaves. WHAT ARE YOU CARRY? I am not saying that you need to lead an ascetic lifestyle and live on water and bread. But for 30k. Why are they to you? What is worse sneakers for 5k? Even for 10k and that can be justified if they are made of supernatural materials. But everything that is higher in the price category is intended for that narrow circle of people in our country for whom 30k is not money. I have no complaints about them. But you then … You live in a rented dorm room and brew a biscuit pack for dinner. Who do you want to impress with your iPhone X (I didn't think of that, she really managed to save up for it somehow). You use all the functionality of your iPhone by exactly 2%. You take a photo and post it on Instagram. All. You will have a lot for these purposes and my huavea for 15. Of course, I didn't tell her all this. I don't want to create a scandal. Convincing all the same will not work.
Let me give you another example. This is the thing my grandmother told me about her son's (my uncle's) trip to the resort:
Promotional video:
- The man is absolutely crazy. They went, you see, to caress your ass on the sea. I'd better dig in and buy a better car. Uuh, to them.
There was a lot of discontent and resentment, but the point is clear. The thing that a car is is better, in its view, than the priceless moments spent with the family on vacation, which will be imprinted in the memory forever. Is there anyone else who thinks that everything is in order and the topic is sucked from the finger? I think not, if you are not a fool like the aforementioned individuals. The worst thing is that these people are in the majority. Their craving for expensive brands is accompanied by a number of such side effects as people's assessment of the high cost of things and an increase in PSI against the background of purchasing these very things. Their behavior is irrational. It does not correspond at all to the behavior of a Homo sapiens. The acquisition of material goods should not be an end in itself.
So what's wrong with my lovely ladies? To figure it out, you need to answer a few questions
1. Did they really need what they wanted? - Not.
2. Why did they want it? - To rise in the eyes of others and not feel worse against their background.
3. Why is such a vulgar social status so important to them that they are ready to spend more than they can afford, or sacrifice something really important? - They are idiots.
You probably expected me to say something like: They have problems with self-esteem. But I assure you that with this they are doing better than you and I put together. They are just idiots. Because they just don't want to think. Ask yourself the question: why do I need this? Why am I doing this? It's as simple as that. And don't care about money. It’s not a waste of money that irritates me. I am annoyed by the stupid waste of life. After all, if an adult has never asked the question "why", then his life made as much sense as buying a new iPhone. And you don't need to be a doctor of psychology to understand this.
What I want to say in the end. Please don't be idiots. Ask yourself the question “why” more often, and your perception of the world and yourself inside it will change for the better.