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The world community is on the edge of the homogeneous trend in buying similar food and clothes; it also follows similar cultural tendencies, including music preferences and video programs. In the United States, consumer culture and popular culture have become identical notions because younger generations are dependent on existing trends and fashions in behavior. Apparently, the reluctance of people to understand their real needs are swallowed by the overwhelming power of advertising, and the extreme influence of mass media. In particular, Americans are attracted by visual ads and commercials because they receive access to a better world. What is more important is that adhering to a consumerist ideology, people strive to improve their environment by creating a utopian vision of the world. However, consumerist culture prevents people from understanding the veritable values of society and, as a result, popular culture consumes uniqueness and plurality of genuine American culture. To prevent the spread of consumerism, individuals should gain awareness of the fact that commodity items should not be perceived as symbolic signs of popular culture, but products for sustaining living standards and meeting specific needs of humans. The U.S. government, therefore, should implement specific regulatory and legislative measures to limit the spread of consumerism.
People often buy similar products because they perceive them as signs of popular culture. Looking at the commodities beyond their actual needs, individuals fail to follow their own unique lifestyles. According to Maasik and Solomon, “American culture and popular cultures are virtually one and the same, and that whether we are looking at our political system, our economy, or simply our national consciousness” (vii). As a result, goods bought by consumers do not actually reflect their physical needs but express their desire to fit in the frames of the popular culture norms. Such an ideology of consumerism was also initially presented in the eighteenth century, before the industrial revolution. The signs of consumerism also involved the spreading market for sugar, which was considered the product of wealthy Europeans in the Middle Ages. People longed to have sugar on their tables not because they had a special need for it, but because it was a sign of welfare and wealth. Stearns marks, “sugar purchases did not constitute full consumerism, but they did suggest a new taste for indulgence in a food that was by no means necessary” (17). Guided by the demands of time, people unintentionally stick to the consumerist culture which provides them with a change to approach to higher social classes of society at that time.
The consumerist culture of past centuries has significantly advanced its positions at modern times and has impregnated into the minds of people all over the world. However, American culture has become the major target of consumption ideology because of specific historical and cultural underpinnings. In particular, the prosperity of consumerism dates back to the 60s of the past century, the rise of the American Dream ideology. Maasik and Solomon explained, “given the importance of popular culture to our lives and the life of our country, it… was subordinated to the ‘high’ culture that academic was charged with preserving and propagating” (17). In such a manner, people from an earlier stage of personal development start to shape their self-identification with the styles and norms accepted in society. According to Bauman, “…the process of self-identification is pursued, and its results are displayed with the help of visible ‘marks of belonging’, obtainable as a rule in the shops” (82-83). Visual representation of products affects social consciousness and distorts individuals’ understanding of the overall purpose of consumption.
Because consumerist ideologies interfere with every sphere of social life, it is highly important to take resolute steps for preventing its constantly increased popularity because some of the trends negatively affect the perception and lifestyle of youth. Specifically, teenagers often buy things that they do not actually need, or that can do harm to their health. This is of particular concern to the proliferation of such brands as Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and many other food products that contribute to the increased rate of obesity among children (Maasik and Solomon 25). Consumption trends also influence individuals’ private space and make people follow the values and rules accepted at the public level. Because of the mass interruption, the government should introduce the specific subject into an academic curriculum about the roles and essence of consumerism to provide them a chance to make decisions and avoid the globalized tendency of consuming unnecessary goods.
A narrow-focused curriculum should be introduced to preliminary schools for children to gain awareness of the marketing in simplistic terms.
These measures will allow shaping the platform for shifting behavioral patterns and habits of the population, as well as make parents understand the extent of the problem. Students should be able to distinguish between ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ so as to be able to make a reasonable choice. Another viable solution will be introducing limitations on advertising goods that are considered harmful to health. As a compromise, each TV ad should contain a warning that a specific product has negative impacts on health. This can significantly prevent children and their parents from following the commonly accepted norms.
Introducing limits to aggressive marketing and establishing prohibition on the available products, such as cigarettes, sweet beverages, and junk food is necessary, particularly when it comes to children under the age of 18. Teenagers should also be limited in financial resources so that a parent should know what products their children buy. Alternatively, parents might provide their children with healthy snacks leaving no money at all. Adults should make effort in educating their children and explaining the basics of money management. Educational institutions should also prevent similar courses to attract children and interest them in gaining responsibility. Children often smoke because it is fashionable and it is a sign of growing up. However, their desire to grow up can also be revealed through introducing subjects and topics that make them feel responsible for their lives. Hence, monetary literacy should also become the major subject along with reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Consumerism has negative consequences for social and economic life in the United States. People become associate their wants with their actual needs. The power of advertising, as well as the course on aggressive marketing, prevents people from understanding actual values because of a lack of education. The younger population is most strongly affected because they have wider access to popular video programs and games. Because of the desire to follow fashionable trends, they consume fast food, wear fashionable clothes and buy various accessories. In order to avoid further spread of consumerism and its influence on popular culture, the government should introduce change to the education of children and their parents. In addition, it should also impose restrictions on advertising goods via various media channels.
Works Cited
Bauman, Zygmunt. Consuming Life. US: Polity, 2007. Print.
Maasik, Sonia and Jack Solomon. Signs of Life in the USA: Reading on Popular Culture for Writers. US: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002. Print.
Stearns, Peter N. Consumerism in World History: The Global Transformation of Desire. US: Taylor & Francis, 2006. Print.
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