I'm a consuming addict or at least i was until i saw this video.
I live in a 3rd world Country and i have a Nintendo, Play station, IPod, Pc in my room with the fastest adsl conex available. Plus some gadgets like Ipod, digital camera, mp4. And the second i bought one of this things i began to save my money to buy a better one. Some ppl here doesn't even have a refrigerator. And the worst part of it is I was never happy with the stuff i had, i was always thinking on the next upgrade.
I know this is something you all guys must have but im not rich and in this country only ppl with lots of money can buy this stuff, so i work really hard everyday to get the money i need.
Its just like Tyler Durden said "You work in a job you hate, to buy stuff you don't need, to impress ppl you don't like"
I don't want to impress ppl. Its just like if i really really need those extra GBs on my IPod and i don't really need them. I have enough music for 2 weeks 24/7 so WTF?
I say fuck my job and fuck the stuff, ill buy only the things i really need and only the ones that were produced with the less "planet fucking" method.
ill just keep my shitty pc to play Starcraft and Poker.
Also there is another type of consuming, like the video says we consume energy and materials every day. Stuff like single-person size meals and products use a lot more materials and resources for package and transportation. I have lots of plastic bags stored because i didn't tell the little kid at the market to just use one, or i could have used my own non-disposable bag.
How about you? Do you really need all those things you want? Is it really worth the damage we make to the world with this stuff?
What little changes in your daily life do you think that could help to consume less energy and natural resources?
There is also a quote i wanted to add from the book "13,99€" but it is in spanish and my english is too bad to translate it. If anyone read the book and knows what I am talking about plz post it.
An old pic that illustrates what i mean by consuming:
I can safely say that I am not a consumer addict. Apart from basic needs, I make a purchase about once every 2-3 months. I used to buy a lot of stuff though when I was younger, but after a while it's just stupid to keep buying shit.
I am glad that I don't care about fashion or gadgets that much. I bought a 52 inch tv to play console games on (my roommates have 360, I have wii) and that's pretty much all I've bought in the last few years. I would never pay anything unreasonable for clothes although I have bought some sneakers for like 100+
Over the past couple years I've grown to actually buy fewer things... I see something cool and then I think... " Will I really use this enough to be worth it?" And usually the answer is no, so I don't get it. People say my cell phone is old and i don't care. Furthermore, all this buying just adds up until you have more stuff than you know what to do with. Down with excessive consumerism, i say!
On August 14 2009 06:08 Kwark wrote: We're all still playing Starcraft. That should count for something in the quality > shiny new things area.
yeah but if you look at the video, its more an environmental shit. When you buy bottled water you use plastic that won't be used again. Same with the plastic bags and all the disposable stuff. Its something that ppl don't need but keeps using it and this things are not for the planet.
What little things could you change to consume less energy and materials?
I really like to buy things a lot for other people although I will never spend a lot of money for things. For some reason I love to buy clothes and stuff like that, but I always will find the best deals and usually go to outlet mall types of places to get cheaper stuff.
When it comes to gadgets and electronics I usually don't really buy much, I believe the last thing i've bought for either my pc or console was a Wii about 4-5 months ago.
Basically now that I think about it all my money goes to bills and food with maybe a few items of clothing mixed in each month.
personally i don't buy much, the only big purchases i've made is my laptop and various software for web development...and 2 years of college ><. i do plan on getting a desktop in the near future though
Well there is also the fact Im a terrible Op cause if you watch the video you'll see i didn't pointed out well the topic i wanted to discuss. Some help here plz? i want to discuss about the topics on the video but my writing skills just suck.
Meh I can't watch the video from my phone, but I'm not a consumer addict, and here in usa plastic is re-usable. I'm mostly a food addict ;p I spend a lot of my money on food and tickets lol -_-
Other than my computer and food I don't generally buy a lot of stuff. I don't buy expensive TVs or clothes or anything like that. Other than my basic needs I only buy new stuff when it breaks or I really need it.
I am a student though so I wouldn't be able to but a lot of stuff even if I wanted to. I try not to be too materialistic though and I don't think I would become some shoppaholic consumerist even if I did get more cash. I at least don't regret or suffer from being a student. I don't crave more money then I have even if it would be pleasant.
Alright, I just watched through the video. (I think one of the reasons that everyone is posting semi-irrelevant information is that they didn't watch the video as well :> ) It's pretty much talking about the waste and destructive nature of American consumerism rather than the addictive consumerism part (although it does mention that, it says that's one of the causes of our wasteful cycles).
Anyways, as for my thoughts on the video, it seems to me like it's one of those environmentalist videos calling out all the bad things that everyone's doing and how bad it is etc etc, without really giving any indication of what we can do. At the end of the video, I was hoping the woman would give some indication of action that we as a society can do but....she never really concretely says anythings. She just says "when people along this system get 'united' we can transform this linear system into something new". That...doesn't really help does it? I guess common sense would fall into action to take, i.e. recycle your face off, buy less, save things, etc, but there must be something more right? And while it is helpful, it's nothing new to me....although I guess it would help more Americans realize what's really happening (I lawled when she said when we need to replace processors, we have to buy a new computer :>)
As for the whole issue with American consumerism, I think it stems from a majority of America thinking that they can buy and be wasteful and do whatever the hell they want just because they're one person "it's only me, I won't be hurting anyone". Also, a lot of people simply don't give a damn about anything at all. "I don't fucking care, it's not my problem. I just want to live in this life of false happiness"
EPT![[image loading]](http://www.enough.org.uk/action/newsl2.gif)
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