economic boom!
I grew up in the 90’s. We saw a huge economic boom in the US and Americans saw an opportunity to try closing the class gap by buying stuff. In the 90’s, Americans wanted multiple cars, vacation homes, beautiful home decor, and the clothes that make us look classy, posh, chic, and wealthy.
Conspicuous consumption is not a new idea. What we buy and wear helps or hurts social status in a consumptive society, dating all the way back to ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece. Did you know in Egypt only those in high positions could wear sandals?
buying shit to look good
There is no denying that part of spending is conspicuous consumption.
Even if I never knew to call it “conspicuous consumption,” I think a part of me knew what it was. It’s about buying goods only to show them off. The intention is to give yourself a certain appearance, which is intended to make others think something about you.
When folks can’t afford such goods, they can be purchased on credit, or some people pursue knock offs.
Did you know that the knock-off market consists of nearly 10% of the marketplace?
I find all of this fascinating.
How we buy, what we buy, when we buy, and the affects we’re hoping to gain as a result are questions I sit around pondering out of sheer curiosity.
But this challenge has forced me to examine myself.
self awareness
How many times have I bought something I didn’t like or need or want just because it might make me look like a person I wanted to look like? What brand awareness have I wasted money on?
In the 90’s, it was all about Nikes. I had Nikes in the 90’s, but I never had a pair of Air Jordans. I thought they looked silly. With age, the shoes have become a little narrow for my feet, so that impacted my buying pattern.
But it’s not just about brands.
What about the colors of the walls in my house? Or the style of furniture I selected when we moved into our dream house? How many of my choices were my own versus what I’ve seen pumped into the marketplace by strategic marketers, designers, and influencers?
I can spend a lifetime asking myself these questions. But none of the answers matter so much as what I’m deciding in the here and now.
What if I decided to reverse my habits?
choosing long-term change
What if I acknowledged and owned the influence others had on me? What if I made a real change to discover the things I actually care about?
This challenge has led me to question the norms. I’m questioning the culture. I’m questioning the consumption. What if I want to be unique? What if I want to make choices completely on my own? We say we do, but few Americans are able to admit the power of the marketplace on our spending and buying habits.
What if fewer and fewer of my life choices revolved around shopping?
This challenge has shown me that I don’t love shopping as much as I thought I did. But I was somehow compelled to do it. I don’t miss it like I thought I would. I actually feel adverse to doing it too frequently now, even for stuff we need (like sponges for the kitchen, or shampoo, or swimming goggles for the kids).
This challenge has woken me up to lots of new thoughts. And while I want to say, “It’s liberating! It’s fun! It’s incredible!” …..that isn’t the whole story.
I’m embarrassed.
I feel uncomfortable in my skin.
I’m confused and a little weirded out.
a HISTORY LESSON
There was a time when conspicuous consumption was frowned upon. Can anyone even remember that? There was a time when it was considered rude, showy, excessive, and materialistic.
In the 30’s, we saw the Great Depression, so folks were rationing, reusing, and making-do. Frugality was a virtue! The 40’s saw over-consumption as un-American because troops were fighting for us and needed resources. The 60’s and 70’s saw hippies and counter-culture, which touted materialism as tied to corporate greed and environmental detachment.
But where are we now?
Thoughts from a researcher
We’re consuming at alarming rates. Especially in the US. In her book, The Overspent American, Harvard Professor Juliet B. Schor interviews high stakes players in the world of big brands, corporations, marketing, and the like. In one interview, a chairman one one of the largest multinational consumer products relays that, “‘brand(s) define the consumer. We are what we wear, what we eat, what we drive. Each of us in this room is a walking compendium of brands. The collection of brands we choose to assemble around us have become amongst the most direct expressions of our individuality– or more precisely, our deep psychological need to identify ourselves with others.’ As the culture would have it, ‘I shop, therefore I am”” (57).
So, I’m out, y’all. Obviously, we need to consume some goods in order to function in our world. But I’m ready to redefine that for myself. I don’t want to keep contributing to the problem of my personality being a bunch of crap I buy online.
What about you? Where do you fall in this discussion? Fill me in! I want to know.
#ConsumerCulture #MindfulConsumption #OverspendingAwareness #ShopTilYouDrop #AntiConsumerism #ConsciousConsumer #Overconsumption #MaterialismMadness #GluttonyOfGoods #BuyLessLiveMore #MinimalismMovement #NoBuyChallenge #SustainableChoices
4 the Love of Peace 