The Treadmill Of Consumption Analysis

As we go through life, we are inundated by advertisements for things we need, things we did not know we wanted until we saw it in advertisement, and stuff that is targeted to entice us to buy based on our internet searches or our purchase history. It used to be that there were only advertisements on television, printed media, or the radio. Now we see all kinds of advertisements through social media as we use our computers, smart phones, and tablet devices. But is this type media infringing on our privacy? Is it concerning that advertisers can target consumers through their internet usage and search engines? This ability can be problem for internet users either in over consuming or purchasing products not needed but wanted. But should this …show more content…
Compound this with consumers wanting more as James Roberts describes in his article “The Treadmill of Consumption”, that claims that having more of something makes us better than others. In comparison, Laurence Shames identifies that consumers are influenced to want more in his paper “The More Factor”. And finally this type of advertising can be very beneficial for those consumers who desire immediate satisfaction as described by Steve McKevitt in “Everything Now”.
As everyday average consumers, we are inundated with advertisements everywhere. This includes television, radio, billboards, sports arenas, and even the clothes we wear just to name a few areas. In the early days of advertising, what was advertised was determined by what marketing experts thought that consumers would need or want based on surveys sent out to groups of consumers in hopes to learn about what people were purchasing (Turow 230). But targeted advertising has now become a big part of social media with it being noticeably increased on the internet through data mining. Data mining through internet websites such as Google and Facebook has made it easier for targeting consumers by using technology that …show more content…
Through the newly developed marketing strategy of big internet businesses of data mining, they (the marketing firms) are able to see into our lives, our soles, and our bank accounts. They literally do not see into these areas but as consumers see products that were searched for on the internet because a friend had it, they can feel the presence of someone on the inside knowing our business or shopping desires. With targeted advertising, we see everything and anything we would need. But, as consumers, unfortunately, we can be easily influenced to want a product and then to purchase it just based on seeing it advertised on the internet. At some point, consumers need to have the power to speak up or be able to shut off the data mining. At some point, consumers need to have the power to say “enough stuff