• What is consumerism?
• Origin of consumerism
• Types of consumption
• Causes of consumerism
• Consequences of consumerism

We explain what consumerism is, its historical origin, current causes and consequences. Also, what types of consumption exist.

Consumerism means buying a lot of unnecessary products.

What is consumerism?

It is known as consumerism, overconsumption or irresponsible consumption to a dynamic of consumption exacerbated goods and services, that is, the tendency to consume too much, in an exaggerated or frantic way, without paying too much attention to whether what is purchased is really necessary or not.

At the same time, consumerism is a doctrine sociocultural and a belief, which proposes the acquisition of material possessions as the only way to personal satisfaction, and which distinguish between the persons based on its greater or lesser consumption capacity.

Consumerism is a trend present in societies capitalists post-industrial, especially those whose citizens they have high income and therefore a lot of consumption capacity.

On the other hand, consumerism is radically opposite to responsible consumption or sustainability: those who practice consumerism ("consumerists") do not care about the durability of the society nor for him ecological damage that their way of life causes, but they indulge in the frenzy of purchase and accumulation.

On the other hand, consumerism is usually promoted by the marketing and the advertising, since constant and massive consumption creates demand where there was no or little, and provides the Business an ideal setting for your products. On the other hand, many social, environmental and progressive sectors criticize consumerist positions and accuse them of carrying out a waste whose consequences will be dramatic for future generations.

Origin of consumerism

Consumerism is only possible within the so-called “consumer society”, Whose origins date back to the 20th century. The industrialization, mass production and the appearance of advertising were determining factors for the formation of the "consumer culture", that is, a model of citizenship that values ​​itself primarily as consumers.

One of the main responsible for the expansion of consumerism in history was the United States, due to the overproduction that its industries experienced in the 1920s, the result in turn of the increase in productivity thanks to the new innovations industrial technology.

This was also a time of cultural flourishing in which voting became accessible to women, and black citizens took their first steps into the public arena amid an air of great euphoria. This feeling of welfare and hope remained in the culture American identified with mass consumption, despite the fact that its consequences were not long in coming: the great depression of 1929.

Types of consumption

Consumption and consumerism are not necessarily synonymous, and to understand this difference, it may be helpful to establish the different types of consumption that occur within our post-industrial societies, many of which are driven and driven by advertising and marketing. , as well as for social and political events. We refer to:

• Experimental consumption. This is the name given to the acquisition of a product or service that you want to try, that is not known in advance and that therefore can lead to occasional or habitual consumption, or simply not to be repeated over time. This is what happens when a new product or brand appears on the market.
• Occasional consumption. Also called intermittent consumption, it is not governed by patterns but is sporadic, casual, depending on the availability of the goods or services demanded and the financial, social and individual situation of the consumer.
• Usual consumption. Also called regular consumption, it is one that is carried out frequently, in which one or more goods are consumed continuously and constantly, such as basic products or basic necessities. The food, for example, are usually in this band.
• Extraordinary consumption. This is what those who speak of "nervous purchases" or "impulsive purchases" refer to, and they usually occur in the moments before a great event of political, social or historical importance, or in the moments immediately afterwards. They are a form of defensive reaction by consumers, and are usually characterized by focusing on basic and fundamental goods, or those that are at risk of scarcity.
• Responsible consumption. The exact opposite of consumerism: a way of consuming that is aware of the consequences of the purchase of a product, both in individual life, social and environmental, and that favors safe and low-risk products to those that provide immediate pleasure and momentary at a very high cost to future generations.

Causes of consumerism

Advertising has a high impact on the forms of consumption.

Consumerism is the product of complex dynamics within the "consumer society", as understood by anthropologists. These dynamics can be summarized as:

• The social and psychological force of advertising and marketing media, capable of encouraging the consumption of certain goods through strategies of seduction to which we are all, to some extent, vulnerable. Products compete in this way for our attention, and it is normal to respond to it in impulsive and irrational ways.
• Facilities that offer certain disposable products, whose use is immediate and then go to the trash, regardless of whether their waste and residues may remain (as in the case of plastics) hundreds of years polluting the environment. However, as the product has disappeared from our homes, we have the impression that it has ceased to exist altogether.
• The planned obsolescence of many products, especially technological ones, which obey the consumerist logic of being forced to buy a new one from time to time, in order to keep the industry going. These products could last much longer, but they are programmed to stop working at a certain point and force us to buy a new one.
• The culture of novelty and innovation, which rewards us socially and emotionally only if we have the latest model of a product or service, and instead embarrasses us if we have fallen behind in the race. The worst thing is that keeping up to date is practically impossible, since the pace of innovation is much faster than any personal ability to saving or wealth generation.

Consequences of consumerism

The consequences of irresponsible consumption can be very positive for the industry and the economy local, and at the same time terrible for the environment and for human health. Some of them can be:

• Creates demand where there was none, or it encourages the demand for a certain product over others, especially those of low price and low quality. This contributes to the poor distribution of wealth, since they are usually the lessons medium and low are those that continuously consume cheap mass-produced goods, investing their money in objects that do not last long and that provide little benefit.
• Continuous and excessive production of garbage, as product residues, especially short-lived ones, accumulate in the environment and can take thousands of years to decompose. This, in turn, wreaks havoc on the planet's delicate biotic balance.
• The massive consumption of low-quality industrialized products, especially food products, has consequences for individual, family and regional health, causing diseases such as obesity and diabetes.
• The massive preference of certain products over others, especially single-use ones over the most durable ones, leads to economic and commercial imbalance between countries Y regions whole, pushing the cycles of capitalism towards crisis more frequent and acute.