Consumer society. Exit paths

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Modern Western society is characterized by a high level of consumption of various goods and services. We are constantly surrounded by calls: “Buy! Buy! Buy! Billboards and TV screens are very colorful and abundant in telling about things that we still cannot do without and form an image of a successful person for us.

The media (and this is not only television, but also the Internet, electronic publications, printed materials) are a mouthpiece that shapes public opinion, shapes needs, values, a kind of social standard towards which we should all strive together.

Fashionable glossy magazines, made according to the Western type, urge young people to live for themselves, take everything from life, spend time fun and carefree. The measure of personal success in such magazines is free relationships and a bunch of different fashionable "trinkets", and for adult uncles and aunts, the same "trinkets" act in the form of absolutely useless artificially created services and options for their expensive cars, phones, etc..d. Almost everything is put up for sale, not only materialized goods, but also time, abilities, and female beauty.

Quite recently I found out that there was such a service as “friend for an hour”. Friendship has already become a subject of bargaining. More precisely, a simulacrum of friendship. The consumer society is a society of artificial values, a fake society.

You can talk a lot about the reasons and preconditions that served to form such a society. However, it is clear that this is all man-made. In this article I want to point out some of the psychological characteristics of a person that are formed under the influence of this type of society.

In a consumer society, there is a substitution of values, criteria that are truly human in a person, for artificial ones. A person in a consumer society feels valuable, self-sufficient, worthy of self-esteem if he has a well-defined consumer behavior, and not personal qualities. The structure of the intrinsic value of a human consumer includes the criteria for having various "toys": a prestigious car, an expensive cell phone, various services and goods that are dictated by fashion, and not an urgent need. And such a person begins to value himself not for his own personal achievements, but for the fact that he has various fashionable toys or redundant things.

For example, such a person may think to himself that I am successful and value myself because I have a good house, I can afford this and that, I have a good job. Moreover, a good one is not always one that a person likes according to his Soul, but one that is considered prestigious in the consumer society, socially normative. In this formulation, there is nothing about a person, but only about external attributes, candy wrappers. I am my fancy car, I am my new home or my phone. In such a setting, things become an extension of a person. And in some cases, the person himself is replaced. In the human consumer, the internal criteria of his value disappear.

For example, you can value yourself for some real achievement in working on your own personality. For raising a son or daughter, or for being a good mother or father, or for accepting my parents as they are, for the ability to make some kind of independent choice, if this choice could not be made earlier, or for a calmer attitude to what others say about me. The last three examples are internal changes and the result of a person's work on himself, which are directly related to his personal growth.

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How does the consumer society affect the psychological maturation of a person?

Roughly speaking, all human needs can be divided into two categories. First, these are those that are due to the need for existence and spiritual, personal growth (food, housing, education, creativity, the need for contact with other people, acceptance of love, etc.) and the second - parasitic needs. These are those that contribute to degradation, a stop in development: tobacco, alcohol, needs that have their redundancy, the need to show "show-off", "materialism" to stand out due to external attributes, especially things. For example, one person has several cars or more than 20 pairs of expensive Swiss watches, like a former governor of one of the regions of our country. Why does he need them?

A society in which excessive consumption and "materialism" are encouraged, in which artificial needs are formed, could not appear by itself. This is based on economic and social prerequisites. And one of these prerequisites is the exorbitant appetites of global transnational corporations, the policy of total lending to the population. Financial tycoons and banks hand out money left and right, at every corner. Even if you don't want to. We are forced to live in debt. Now let's see what this threatens in a psychological sense?

Firstly, unrestrained consumption, moreover, instantaneous, momentary (went around the corner, took out a loan), without any difficulty - corrupts, because, in this state, a person becomes an animal. The animal lives by instincts, satisfying its needs and nothing more. But, unlike a person, an animal is limited by instincts, and will not consume too much, and a person will, since he has a mind, he has no boundaries.

This situation manifests itself very well when we observe small children. The world of a child is the world of his desires and needs. A child under 5 years of age lives exclusively by his desires. He is not able to set boundaries for himself, adults teach him this. He sincerely believes that the whole world revolves around him. He wanted something, squeaked, and then the adults ran up and gave what he needed. Moreover, the child did not put much effort into this! For a child, this state of affairs is quite natural, and at a certain stage of development it is quite useful, but for adults?

We can observe a similar picture in the consumer society. People are forced to live exclusively by their desires. When we talk about buying with a loan, it is assumed that a person does not have his own funds, and he borrows in debt, which means that he has not yet invested his socially useful labor in a "common pot" for which he would receive money … Any product that we buy on credit has already been created by someone, someone has put their work into it. And if a person gets it quickly, without investing labor, then it turns out that he uses other people's labor just like that, it looks like parasitism.

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Secondly, as I said, focusing solely on consumption is kind of "Return" to childhood, to a childish state. Moreover, most of a person's activity will be aimed at satisfying excess or parasitic needs, which are formed by some "authorities". We do something, we are active in life only because we want something, we strive for something. And in this respect, you can want much more than just "stuff your belly." However, in order for a person to be able to form and formulate for himself what he really wants, he needs to be in contact with himself, listen to himself, learn to measure his capabilities with his desires. Such an ability as “living within our means” or comparing one's resources, capabilities with life goals and objectives is one of the signs of adulthood. Unrestrained consumption, its cult, appeals to it just neutralize this skill, which forms a person's infantile features.

And such traits can often be observed in people in a consumer society, especially among young people. The infantilization of the population is becoming more and more widespread. In ordinary life, this manifests itself as a later growing up, an orientation towards an easy, carefree life, an inability to do physical work, an increasing number of people falling into gambling and Internet addiction, and irresponsibility.

In psychology, there is such a thing as leading activity. They designate the activity with which the emergence of the most important psychological neoplasms in a person is associated in the process of his development. In other words, this is the main form of human activity at a certain age, within and on the basis of which, major changes arise in his psychological development.

The leading activity of the preschooler is play, and the leading activity of the adult is work. An interesting parallel turns out: the number of people falling into gambling and Internet addiction is increasing, the attitude towards work as such is changing. Most of these people change their leading activity to one that corresponds to preschool age. Another transition to childhood. And as a result of these processes, the age at first marriage increases, as well as the percentage of those who have not tied their lives by marriage at all. Marriage is a responsibility. And responsible actions are characteristic of more mature individuals. The child does not need an equal “Partner”, he needs a “Parent”. "Partner" and "Parent" are, of course, roles here. And, by the way, this irresponsibility manifests itself not only in the sphere of building marriage relations, but also at various levels of our life. People are afraid to take responsibility. Isn't that what we are seeing today?

Thirdly, in a purely consumption-oriented society changing attitudes towards work as such. Especially the younger generation that is entering life is listening to this very strongly. New professions are emerging that are exclusively in the service sector, and most of the services are either redundant or aimed at “parasitic” needs. We are constantly told that life should be easy and everything should be accessible at the press of one key. You don't have to do much at all. They will do everything for you. Just press the button. You don't even have to leave the house - they will bring you fresh food, water, and other goods, provide services.

I witnessed how a certain trading company offered students and teenagers the job of questioning citizens. For 4 hours of work, the teenager received 1000 rubles. And from teenage schoolchildren who were involved in this business, I heard opinions: “Why study at all? You can work half a day and generally get a decent salary. Just think, for 4 hours of unskilled work, the company pays more than a doctor or teacher or some engineer at a factory will receive for the same time. Agree, the contribution of these workers in relation to society is not at all commensurate.

Or some sales assistant gets more than the same teacher.

An inability to work systematically or an orientation toward "easy" earnings is another sign of immaturity. In addition, easy money is cultivated in such dubious parasitic ways as selling beauty, gambling, etc.

Fourth. When invisible authorities shape our needs and values, it also resembles the process when parents decide for the child what to do and what he will have for lunch today. Not all adults today, not to mention young people, can give themselves an answer to the question of why they change a cell phone, a car, buying a more fashionable and perfect model, provided that the old one fulfills its functions quite tolerably. And what, can this be called an independent choice when they decide for you?

But the main thing that it all ends with for the layman is addiction and flight. Dependence on already consumed goods, dependence on the credit burden. People lose sleep, peace, time, positive thoughts just to repay loans and find an opportunity to "enrich themselves" again, taking their savings to bankers, paying off debts. This state of affairs forms another addiction in a person.

And, of course, escape is an escape from real life. Escape into the virtual world, into the simulacrum of life, virtual games that actually replace life, saving a person from this frantic race of consumption of the modern world.

What can be done?

The problems and observations that were described above are of a systemic nature and require changes at different levels: spiritual, social, political. Each of us, despite the fact that he is just a person, can change the existing state of affairs at his level, no matter what social niche he occupies. Below, I will give some recommendations, following which you can change the situation.

General recommendations:

1. Live within your means

To broadcast this idea not only to yourself, but also to your children. By personal example, to show them that living in debt is, at the very least, personal insolvency, inability to plan, make choices, and use inner freedom.

Pay off old loans (if any) and refuse new ones. Reconsider your needs for excess (something you can definitely live without) and parasitic.

3. Direct free funds to your education, health, self-development. Or for the education and development of your children.

4. Eliminate materialism in your family. It is best to communicate this to your children and family members by example.

5. Limit TV viewing not only for children, but for the whole family. Replace the freed up time with reading books, joint activities, family leisure, self-education, sports.

What should be broadcast to children?

For the formation of industriousness:

1. Personal example. When parents work in a family, create a useful social product, this is the best example for children. Trading on the stock exchange or buying and selling shares, currencies is not a very good example to follow. Such "players" do not create anything useful for society. Money is received in a "parasitic" way. The child must know and see what the parents do for a living. What is useful for others.

2. To support the preschooler's play activity, in which he helps his parents, does something useful

The child, being surrounded by adults, through the mechanism of imitation, models in the game the activity and the behavior that he sees around him. From the age of 3, the child develops an activity in which he models useful activities in play that he observes in the family. These can be different household chores. Adults should be encouraged in every possible way to play the child in which he helps his parents. Give him some simple instructions. It is clear that the child is only playing this for now, but this forms a fixed emotional-positive connection in him in terms of work. Here I am not talking about household chores that the child does, but about the game in which the child models them.

Also, an adult can consciously intensify joint activities with a child, where the child will help him. It is important to convey to the child that he helps, does a useful thing, does it well (regardless of the result). For a child of this age, this is still a game.

3. Distribution of responsibilities. From the age of 5, a child in a family can be given some simple responsibilities. This can be watering a flower, feeding cats, cleaning toys. For successful implementation, it is imperative to praise and support.

4. Parents give up such motivators of children as money and buying things. It is about replacing parental attention with the purchase of toys or money. Some parents give money for good grades in school or behavior. In this case, the child may have an unambiguous connection between money and his achievements. Achievements should be for personal development, and not for the sake of money, and, moreover, the child may form a conviction that studying at school, behavior is a commodity. In this case, it is important to come up with other bonuses for the child, not monetary.

5. Formation of a reasonable attitude to money in the child. Usually, children notice how adults in their families relate to money and how they spend it, how they know how to manage it. To the extent that adults can reasonably manage their money, so the child forms his attitude towards them.

6. For adolescents, it is imperative to gain experience of independent earnings. It is desirable that this be manual labor. A good time for this is the summer vacation. For this period, the issuance of pocket money should be excluded.

This can "kill a few birds with one stone":

• Earning a handicraft experience can be a great motivator to go to school. After gaining such experience, a teenager can overestimate the importance and necessity of training, obtaining further education, instead of the momentary craving for making money.
• The teenager learns on his own "skin" how money gets, that they do not fall from the sky and their parents "do not print."
• The teenager will earn his own pocket money. The attitude to the money earned is completely different than to those that are given for free, from the parents. As an additional effect, he will spend them more wisely.