Social, Cultural, and Psychological Consequences of Consumerism

by Jake Popken

“We’re consumers. We are the byproducts of a lifestyle obsession,” quips Tyler Durden, the scornful alter ego of the narrator in the 1999 film Fight Club. “Murder, crime, poverty, these things don’t concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy’s name on my underwear. Rogaine, Viagra, Olestra.''  Lamenting that the modern man has been stripped of his purpose and spirit by consumerism, Tyler believes that he is free in all the ways his more conventional self is not. He feels the narrator is owned by his possessions, that his relentless consumption of clothes and furniture is an attempt to fill the void, gain a sense of identity, and project an image. This consumption is the narrator's version of self improvement, an act motivated by seeking the validation of others. The narrator is enslaved by consumerism and materialism, and it is his alter ego, Tyler—authentically himself and indifferent to others—who exposes his truth.

Like the narrator, almost everyone has felt or seen the detrimental effects of consumerism first hand. It is the oil that keeps the capitalist engine running, and the plague that keeps the consumer from being content. While it may cause economic growth, it has caused spiritual, environmental, and cultural decay that has left the consumer depressed and unfulfilled. Contemporary consumers too often don't purchase what they need out of self interest; they purchase to validate their status in society and impress others. Always in search of the next best thing, the consumer inevitably over consumes. Despite the arguably positive impact it has had on our economy, consumerism has had detrimental social and psychological effects on our society. We are slaves to a system that forces us to participate to preserve itself.

In order to fully grasp why consumerism has become so detrimental to our society, it is important to understand its basic definition. Economic sociologist Adam Hayes describes consumerism as “the tendency of people living in a capitalist economy to engage in a lifestyle of excessive materialism that revolves around reflexive, wasteful, or conspicuous overconsumption.” Luxury SUVS, 70-inch televisions, even super-sized fast food meals are popular symbols of such gluttony. However, consumerism is not new despite the prominence of  its negative effects in modern society. Early twentieth century economist Edward Cowdrick described the 1920s as “the new economic gospel of consumption” because industrialization had skyrocketed due to the quickly increasing rates of production. Companies needed consumption to grow rapidly as well, leading to advertising campaigns convincing people, according to 1920s historian Frederick Allen, to spend money on luxuries rather than necessities: “Unless [the consumer] could be persuaded to buy and buy lavishly, the whole stream of six-cylinder cars, super heterodynes, cigarettes, rogue compacts and electric ice boxes would be dammed up at its outlets.” A century later, many believe we have far progressed past our basic needs and that we are in a state of hyper consumerism. “Compared with Americans in 1957, today we own twice as many cars per person, eat out twice as often and enjoy endless other commodities that weren't around then—big-screen TVs, microwave ovens, SUVs and handheld wireless devices, to name a few,” notes Tori DeAngelis, following up with the question, “But are we any happier?” (52). Consumerism has grown with an almost unlimited number of products on the market now in the name of innovation. These products are supposed to have a positive effect on us and improve our quality of life, yet our culture, psychology, and society have suffered so greatly at the hand of consumerism.

When it comes to analyzing the relationship between consumerism, culture, and society, understanding the theories of Thorstein Veblen are crucial. Velblen came up with the term “conspicuous consumption” for the act of overconsumption for the sake of status. Thorstein believed many people purchased expensive items as a way to validate their status rather than an actual need for the product. People in society use material possessions as a way to gain the respect of others, and often purchase with that goal in mind. And with the next best product always coming onto the market, continuing to purchase more and more is the only way to keep up with others. Consumerism has created a culture of people who derive their self worth from their possessions and one of constant competition for external validation, reinforcing the adage–often attributed to Theodore Roosevelt–that “comparison is the thief of joy”—that rather than being grateful for what we have, we focus on the things others have that we don’t. And humans haven’t only been negatively affected socially by consumerism. Anup Shah says that the state of “perpetual growth” we are placed into by consumerism is destructive to the environment, a contributing factor to poverty and hunger around the world, as well as ecological problems. Oftentimes, more first world countries take advantage of poorer nations, exploiting them for their resources, destroying their lands, and worsening the wealth gap that already exists. Luxuries become necessities, and the cyclical demand for more resources and increased production to fulfill supply results in an other-imposed self fulfilling prophecy. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “There’s enough on this planet for everyone’s needs but not for everyone’s greed.”

However, many would argue that consumerism's economic benefits (e.g., economic growth, innovation, increased efficiency, consumer choice) outweigh the consequences and have improved our quality of life, allowing us to be happier. And while consumerism has admittedly made some aspects of our lives more productive, efficient, more connected, it hasn’t necessarily made us happier. According to Hope College psychologist David G. Myers, “Compared with their grandparents, today's young adults have grown up with much more affluence, slightly less happiness and much greater risk of depression and assorted social pathology.” The more we want the more unhappy we become. Horace’s notion on greed in his Epistles, colloquially phrased as “he is greedy is always in want” resonates centuries later: Our “values and confused greed,” as interpreted by Armstrong, “lead only to instant dissatisfaction with whatever they happen to possess” (106). We are urged to fulfill our desires and think we will be left complete—perfect, whole. This is the genesis of the emerging alter-ego of Tyler Durden in Fight Club: “I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let…let’s evolve. Let the chips fall where they may.'' Tyler is contentedly incomplete. Consumerism sells completion and perfection, a futile quest for individuals, keeping us discontent and robbing us of our happiness. “People with strong materialistic values,” argues Knox College psychologist Tim Kasser, “appear to have goal orientations that may lead to poorer well-being.” DeAngelis notes that financial and emotional insecurity are often the root of consumerist cravings. People discontent with their incompleteness try to make themselves whole with products and money, rather than developing an intrinsic sense of self worth through dedicating themselves to self improvement, which is hard and doesn’t provide the instant gratification of modern day consumption behaviors like online shopping or video streaming services. Social psychologist Marsha Richens says consumers often have unrealistic expectations for what a product can do for them in many aspects of their lives, recounting how a father desperately wanted a swimming pool as a means to improve his relationship with his 13-year-old daughter. Instead of trying to get to the socio-emotional root of the problem, the father saw the swimming pool as a quick fix that he thought could reconcile his relationship with his daughter.  Instead of chasing the pleasure and comfort—or the quick fix—consumerism brings us, we should do as Epictetus professed nearly 2000 years ago: Let us devote the rest of our lives to making progress, remaining steadfastly content and incomplete. While we will never arrive, the journey is enough to leave us fulfilled.

French Enlightenment philosopher Rousseau believed, “Too much effort to increase our happiness transforms us into misery.” The never ending greedy desire consumerism has instilled in our society has been detrimental to our culture, health, environment, and psychology. The negative effects of consumerism will continue to become more pronounced as we continue to venture into a hyper-consumerist state. A complete upheaval of the system as it stands would be unrealistic—we can’t literally blow it all up as Tyler conspires to do in Fight Club. Instead, as consumers we should focus on our relationship with the products we purchase, scrutinizing our wants and needs and the subconscious motives that might drive overconsumption. It is in doing this that we will avoid the things we own owning us.