The Culture of Consumption

When I was in elementary school, I was introduced to what is known as human needs and wants. According to what I learned from my teachers, human needs are the basic things which people cannot do without. They include clothing, shelter, and food. On the other hand, wants are the luxurious commodities which are not essential to life but are required because they make life much better. Personally, I use both the basic and human wants I my day-to-day endeavors. Despite the fact that people should only buy what they need, it has come a time when everyone has succumbed to the culture of consumerism. Meaning, they buy as many products as they can as long as money is available to do so. There are many reasons why people consume a lot. First, the concept of consumerism has become the order of the day. It is a new culture which has been propagated by the media. The other reason why people consume a lot of products is that of peer influence. Many people are influenced to buy commodities because their friends do the same. Lastly, the culture of consumerism has been advanced by the availability of money and commodities to buy. People always have a desire to acquire more because the human needs are insatiable.

Personally, I am just like any other person who has insatiable needs. Since I have a deeper understanding of myself, I know that I have become captive to the culture of consumption. I cannot deny that I do use both the basic needs and secondary wants. When I audited my house, I found out that I have many brands of trousers, shirts, tee-shirts, sweaters, coats, inner wears, and huts. I use these clothes as a basic and luxury. Regarding basic, the clothes keep me warm when it is cold, cover my nakedness, and give me some sense of beauty. However, I realized that not only use my clothes as a source of luxury. I concluded because I observed that I have some of the best clothing brands in the market with which many people identify. When it comes to food, I found out that I have been buying different brands of food each day. However, what surprised me is that I have been purchasing too much of them. At times, I am forced to throw away some because I do not need them. This is a wasteful culture which might not help me in any way. However, the other thing I noticed is that I also have a wide range of luxurious wants such as a car, bicycle, smartphone, laptop, and a desktop. Each of these helps me in different ways.

According to economists, a human need is the basic commodities which are needed for survival. It means that people do not need to have excess commodities rather than the essential ones who can help them to live. However, this does not happen because people tend to extend their demands and instead of concentrating on the basics, they look for the wants which are more luxurious and only intended to make their life more comfortable and enjoyable. From this fact, it is clear that human beings want more than they need. The unending demand for human beings proves that they have wants which can never be satisfied no matter what it happens. I am an example of the people who cannot be content with the basic needs which I have.