Consumerism
Ads / commercials
In the world we live in today we need to consume to live so we buy food, water, shelter etc as they are all needs.
Ads / commercials
Effects on environment
Effects on society
Spreads awareness about important issues and products, effectively and in a powerful way.
Makes TV shows, internet, videos and apps free to use; they use ads to gain money so without them most things won't be free.
Makes wants into unnecessary needs
In the early 18th century, in the North of Europe economies started to grow and wages rose.
Unrealistic body expectations, making people look flawless, when no one is perfect so people become insecure about themselves
Keeps prices low for consumers as brands can get competitive.
Helps businesses grow and lets consumers have choices
Pollution, from factories that make products for people to consume
Waste / Rubbish
Deforestation, as many things are made out of wood, and also the need of more space for factories, shops etc
According to Scientists, 12 million tons of plastics go into our oceans every year, of which about half of is single use
In 2005, 59% of the world's consumer products were bought by just 10% of the worlds wealthiest 10% of the population. From this we can tell that the wealthy population consume too much when they could donate to charities and to poor countries instead
When it only costs $6 billion for everyone in this world to have basic education, Europeans spend $11 billion on average every year on ice cream which could provide basic education to everybody twice.
More and more waste, plenty of littering (example: Great Pacific Garbage Patch)
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Accelerated climate change including Global Warming
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H I S T O R Y
Families started to buy small luxuries and a economical cycle was formed. When people spent money, businesses grew, then the wages went up. This is how consumerism started until it is like it is today.
Wellbeing
As well as affecting your own wellbeing, it also affects social relationships, so others wellbeing can get affected too.
A lot of people start to become addicted to money and start to not care about anything else. They start to not appreciate what they have and want things that they don't have. When materialization goes up, happiness goes down, so depression, anxiety substance, and abuse can become more popular.
If everyone on earth consumer the same amount as an average US citizen, 4 earths would be needed to sustain our world. A wealthier country - The United Arab Emirates would be 5.4 earths needed. This shows that we are consuming way too much to sustain our planet earth.
Appreciate things you have
W H A T - W E
C A N - D O
Consume less, keep it to a minimum
Define your wants and needs
Increase recycling
Raising awareness in your community