Consumerism. The drive which makes us feel like we need everything, no matter what the eventual costs and problems would create. “Swollen Expectations,” an article that looks into the effects of consumerism and different ways it has changed our lives, claims that our generation sets higher material expectations than any other generation. Some will argue that this isn’t the case, and that our world is changing for the better. However, I would disagree with those arguments. After discussing the article “Swollen Expectations,” I agree with the concept that our world today is based over materialization, due to advanced technology, the feeling of needing to be better than everyone, and the vision of requiring all of the unnecessary things in life.
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As said best by a car salesman in “Swollen Expectations,” “For a lot of people, an SUV is a status symbol...So they’re willing to pay the thirty-to forty-odd thousand dollars to drive one of these vehicles.” My mom disagrees with this statement as she says that for our family, a SUV provides more space transporting both ourselves and items for holidays. As long as our family can depend on it, my mom doesn’t care about the status symbol of a vehicle. However, that doesn’t stop car manufactures from developing stronger and larger SUVs to compete with their competition. At the same time, prices for these automobiles skyrocket. These manufactures help promote consumerism by releasing “bigger and better than ever” vehicles to make the population feel obligated to purchase one. Ultimately, the power of consumerism feeds through all its American victims. Through the advancements in technology or through the unnecessary purchases, consumerism thrives. In today’s society, in order to seem the best to others, you must necessitate the newest cars, go on a grand vacation every season, and own five TVs with cable included. Even I personally fall into some of the bad habits that so many Americans are committing to today. Ending the epidemic of consumerism would release so many Americans from these current habits, eventually benefitting our
As said best by a car salesman in “Swollen Expectations,” “For a lot of people, an SUV is a status symbol...So they’re willing to pay the thirty-to forty-odd thousand dollars to drive one of these vehicles.” My mom disagrees with this statement as she says that for our family, a SUV provides more space transporting both ourselves and items for holidays. As long as our family can depend on it, my mom doesn’t care about the status symbol of a vehicle. However, that doesn’t stop car manufactures from developing stronger and larger SUVs to compete with their competition. At the same time, prices for these automobiles skyrocket. These manufactures help promote consumerism by releasing “bigger and better than ever” vehicles to make the population feel obligated to purchase one. Ultimately, the power of consumerism feeds through all its American victims. Through the advancements in technology or through the unnecessary purchases, consumerism thrives. In today’s society, in order to seem the best to others, you must necessitate the newest cars, go on a grand vacation every season, and own five TVs with cable included. Even I personally fall into some of the bad habits that so many Americans are committing to today. Ending the epidemic of consumerism would release so many Americans from these current habits, eventually benefitting our