50 Insightful, Funny, And Worrying Takes On This Consumer Society We've Created

The first step in solving a problem is acknowledging it exists...

Damjan

• Published in Interesting
• March 4, 2022

We live in a society based on consumerism. We constantly want more.

Hey, they’ve just released a new model of that thing I have but never really used once. But this time, it will be different.

I will actually use it. Yeah, that’s the story we sell to ourselves every time we hit that “Order” and “Buy Now!” button.

And we find ourselves in a constant, never-ending loop of buying and throwing away hardly used products. And what about food?

That’s even worse. For instance, in times when there are thousands of people literally starving, we throw away tons of food.

And all because something looked really tasty. Or that recipe we saw on Instagram.

We bought all the ingredients for it while perfectly aware of the fact that we were never going to make it. But we bought the ingredients for it nonetheless.

And since they’ve spoiled in the meantime, we throw them away. And it makes us angry at ourselves.

The anti-consumption subreddit r/AntiConsumption is a great example of this. Its 294K members analyze, debate, and discuss anything relating to consumerism, and they present concrete examples of how the system has devolved.

This online group appeals to many since it isn't sounding the alarm or proclaiming the end of the world. Rather, it encourages us to take a step back and examine the world we have made for ourselves.

1. "There Are So Few Spaces Like This Left"

2. "Not Sure What They're Expecting"

3. "We Need A Different Economy"

4. "Thought This Belonged Here… It Drives Me Nuts How There Is Such A Purchase-Culture Around Fitness And Health"

5. "Consumption Is Most Ravenous At The Top Of Society, Consuming Small-Businesses Too"

6. "Remember Kids, “Vegan Wool” Is Plastic. And When It Breaks, It’s Decomposition Will Not Be Friendly"

7. "Found On Fb"

8. "What Up Water Homies"

9. "Bruh"

10. "You Know When You Can't Figure Out If Something Is Satire?"

11. "Plastic Straws And Sandwich Cutters Aren’t The Devil"

12. "Some Decent Tips I Think"

13. "The True Cost Of Stuff"

14. "Great To See Out Society As A Whole, Progressing"

15. "It Do Be Like That"

16. "Problem Solved"

17. "Just Came Across This And I Just Wanted To Share It"

18. "You Are Enough"

19. "What A Beautiful Billboard"

20. "My Sister Asked Me To Buy These 2 Products For Her Birthday. This Is The Packaging For 10 Ml Of Product"

21. "Brands Aren't Your Friends"

22. "I See This Every Year. Over 60,000 New iPhone & Samsung Cases Are Dumped Because They Won’t Fit The New Models"

23. "Restaurant Ask Customers To Stop Wasting Buffet Food"

24. "🙄"

25. "Sometimes That's Hard To Forget With All The Advertisements For Sustainable Clothing Brands"

26. "Useless Stuff Indeed"

27. "Old Bag New Life So My Mom Spent The Day Removing The Old Straps From Her Swimming Bag And Replaced Them With What She Had At Home: Some Old Cargo Straps. I Think The Colors Work Really Great With Each Other! Please Give Her A Thumbs Up!"

28. "Croatian Company Made Their Toilet Paper Package With A Cool Dual Purpose"

29. "Absolutely Disgusting"

30. "This "Low Plastic" Pen Is A Perfect Metaphor For Environmentalism Under Capitalism"

31. "Permanent Permaculture"

32. "My Sister’s Gender Reveal “Party”. Her Doctor Wrote The Baby’s Gender On A Piece Of Paper. At The End Of The Day The Whole Family Joined A Video Call Where She Unfolded The Paper! That Was It!"

33. "Yep"

34. "Me Everytime There Is A Discussion About Straws"

35. "Put The Small Biz Before Big Biz"

36. Just do it!

37. "This Changes Everything"

38. "My Work Is Required To Have Paper Charts And Maps, But They Expire Every Couple Months. I Take The Expired Charts And Use Them As Wrapping Paper"

39. "Not Perfect Anti Consumption, But I Used Black Takeout Containers And Old Greeting Cards To Give Out Homemade Cookies This Year"

40. "Just Ewww"

41. "Bernie Showing Us All The Way"

42. "Less Ads More Content Follow"

43. "Living In The 20's"

44. "Great Idea Stolen From Facebook"

45. True

46. "This"

47. "This Would Be Very Depressing"

48. "Our Economy Thrives Off Insecurities"

49. "This Really Hit Home For Me To See Today!"

50. "To Keep Prices High"

The capitalist system is based on never-ending expansion. It would collapse if people were satisfied with their current situation.

Capitalism maintained its pace throughout the twentieth century by transforming the average individual into a consumer with an insatiable desire for beautiful products. Buying all that new, shiny stuff keeps us entertained.

Hell, if it weren't for that, we could start thinking, and we could end up taking a good look at ourselves. And we wouldn't want that, right?

Damjan