THE BUYING TRAP: How We Become Mindless Consumers

There are stealthy societal and marketplace pressures that make us unhappy – without us realising it. Manufactures for example, create new products that we don’t really need so that we become addicted to the useless, and become trapped in consumerism. If you feel less, they can sell you more.

In Reasons to Stay Alive, a book about depression and how to overcome it, author Matt Haig brilliantly points out how our world is sometimes designed to make us feel inadequate or unsatisfied, often using insecurities to drive consumerism or shape our choices.

“The world is increasingly designed to depress us. Happiness isn’t very good for the economy. If we were happy with what we had, why would we need more?

“How do you sell an anti-ageing moisturiser? You make someone worry about ageing… How do you get them to buy insurance? By making them worry about everything. How do you get them to have plastic surgery? By highlighting their physical flaws. How do you get them to watch a TV show? By making them worry about missing out. How do you get them to buy a new smartphone? By making them feel like they are being left behind.

“To be calm becomes a kind of revolutionary act. To be happy with your own non upgraded existence. To be comfortable with our messy, human selves, would not be good for business.” (edited excerpts from Reasons to Stay Alive)

Finding contentment in ourselves, our lives, and our genuine desires is indeed a revolutionary act in today’s society. Have you found ways to navigate this societal pressure and embrace a more calm and contented approach to life? (Philo Thoughts)

Avoid falling into the consumerism trap.