Be Happier by Consuming Less Essay Example for Free

Be Happier by Consuming Less EssayConsumerist is a amicable and economic magnitude that encourages the purchase of goods and services in ever greater amounts. In the American consumption, people do not k flat how much is enough, do we re wholey lease all we buy? Or we just buy it beca white plague everyone else has it? Does it make us any happier? In the article The New Politics of Consumption Why Americans emergency So Much More That They Need Juliet Schor shares with us her point of view about American Consumption. In Schors article says, The average American straight finds it harder to achieve a satisfying standard of living than 25 familys ago (411). Also that The competitive consumption, the idea that pass is in large start driven by a comparative or competitive process in which individuals try to keep up with the norms of the social group with which they identify as a reference group (412). Finally she believes that Low income children are more likely to be exposed to commercials at school, as healthful as inhabitancy (413). Our personal consumer choices reach ecological, social, and spiritual consequences.Much of what we purchase is not essential for our survival or even basic human comfort but is ground on impulse, a momentary desire, and there is a hidden price that we, and future generations allow for pay for it too. The American economys ultimate employment is to produce more consumer goods, not better health care, education, housing, transportation, but to provide more stuff to consumers. First, in Schors article she says, The average American now finds it harder to achieve a satisfying standard of living than 25 years ago (411).Nowadays people relieve oneself to work longer hours than 25 year ago, to be able to pay all their desires. Having more and newer things each year has become not just something we want but something we need. The idea of more, ever increase wealth has become the center of our identity, and this looks like a n addiction. For example, my aunt Maria works 5 days a week to be able to pay all her bills and some meters does overtime. She might keep a lot of new and cool things, but she doesnt even have time to enjoy all these things because she has to be working just to pay all she has.My aunt has a salary of $9. 25 per hour and getting a check of $740 biweekly which she have to use to pay her car $200, plus her phone $85, personal stuff $150, and the list keep going. I have worked 40 hours a week, going to classes full-time with dinky satisfaction. Without working that long, I am slight stressed, and I prefer to learn how to spend less money, than spending more, and live stressed all the time. People should flummox more responsibility for themselves and their families and think outside of the box when it comes to life.Working less hours and buying fewer products is a good way to start. Also, Schor says, The competitive consumption, the idea that spending is in large part driven by a com parative or competitive process in which individuals try to keep up with the norms of the social group with which they identify as a reference group (412). People try to be in the same level that everyone else if they see that somebody bought something, they will try to have that, just because that person has it. An example is the iPhones people are obsessed with them.The first iPhone was the 3G, then 3GS, 4, 4S, and the 5 that is the last one that just came out. each(prenominal) of these iPhones do almost the same functions they just changed the size, and some other little things. People spend a lot of money buying the iPhones the prices are surrounded by $300 and $500. The point is that people want to keep up with the newest things, just because other people will have it. For example, my cousin Heysus who is 23 years old, have been buying all the iPhones, because all his friends have them, and whenever came a new iPhone, he ordered it immediately to keep up with what his friends have.Another point is that people with less income, tend to watch more TV, in Schors article says, Low income children are more likely to be exposed to commercials at school, as well as home (413). Television and marketing are a big influence of how people spend their money. We watched an example of it in the movie of Super-Size Me, of how the companies spend a lot of their money on marketing, because they know that people is going to buy their products. We need to make people conscious about the problem that we all have as a society.Without our consumer impulse to buy the newest, coolest things on the market, there would be no market. People should think more about what they buy, and should not do spare purchases I think that some people keep troubling more about what they can buy, and how they can have better and newest things instead of be worrying about how they can live happier, and less stressed. An individual does not necessarily have to live as a rich person to be happy. The theme of shorter hours working is a wealth of opportunity and adventure that no Disneyland or Las Vegas vacation can offer.It is actually stress-free and can help us to have time to more valuable parts of our life, like having more time to spend with our family and friends. Finally, as a student that works and studies at the same time, I have to be a smart consumer. I ask myself what I need and what I really dont. Why do I need a car? Is it necessary to have a laptop when we have a library full of computers? We all need to learn that how to spend our money in a better way, and know that we do not need to have the newest and coolest things that the market offer us to be happy.