According to FLOWmarket, it can.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around their message. On one hand, it’s a novel idea. They play on the concept of consuming meaning. Sometimes we purchase things because of the meaning we project on them. For example, some adult consumers fall for ‘newstalgia’ that is they buy things now that were originally marketed in their childhood (i.e. Carebears, Strawberry Shortcake etc.). These adults associate the happiness  (and perhaps innocence) they had when they were kids with those marketed products. That’s what FLOWmarket reminds me of.

Though, on the other hand, I really think FLOWmarket’s merchandise is a bit pricey. Consumer awareness isn’t cheap I guess.

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While browsing the internet I stumbled upon Worthless.

It was an installation that sort of acted like a Goodwill. A la In Rainbows, customers determined the price they’d pay for the merchandise.

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I also found an article regarding photographer Brian Ulrich whose work showcases the consumer landscape in retail stores. At one point in the article he talks about the illusions created in retails spaces to “overwhelm” shoppers. According to Ulrich, he believes stores strategically and purposely try to “overwhelm” and depress shoppers so that the shoppers feel more inclined to spend more to combat those uncomfortable feelings.

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A lot of people seem to think that anti-consumerism means “not shopping”. That’s not true. There’s more to anti-consumerism than telling people to “stop shopping”. Anti-consumerism also embodies the idea people shouldn’t liken “personal happiness [to] consumption and the purchase of material possessions“. People shouldn’t rely so heavily on products to make them feel fulfilled. After all, isn’t that intial “shopper’s high” just a fleeting feeling? Doesn’t that lead to regret sometimes (which could be why they invented the term “buyer’s remorse). Doesn’t that also leave more people in debt as they try to recapture the “shopper’s high”? People need to buy less crap that they don’t need!

And Debt, another topic that I think about. The concept of  “easy credit” bothers me. I hate getting offers in the mail for credits cards I don’t need. It just leads to more waste and more chances for identity theft to occur. Easy credit also allows for people to fall “easily” into debt. I’m glad the government finally stepped in with credit card reform I just think it’s dickish on the credit card company’s part to fight back via rate hikes and whatnot.

Anyways, getting back to the topic anti-consumerism. I don’t disapprove of shopping. I just think it needs to be done more responsibly (that and people need to save more than they spend). It’s excessive consumerism that I don’t like. I disapprove of shallow materialism as well. I believe there’s more to life than owning things. There are experiences, people, relationships, pugs, etc. that can’t be valued and defined by money or equated with products. I feel it’s empty to measure happiness in terms of stuff. There was a study by Princeton Unversity where they found that more money truly does not buy you happiness. People who make more money tend to commute more (ugh!) and socialize less.

I also believe in responsible spending and saving.

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I found this amusing video on YouTube. Rather than trying to convey a political message, it makes fun of consumerism in a more satirical and playful note:

I also wanted to bring up the movie Idiocracy which I first saw a couple years back. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time and now that I think about it, perhaps that movie too has influence my views regarding consumerism (it’s a pretty hilarious and anti-commercial movie). It’s like Wall-E except directed by Mike Judge (in fact, it’s disturbing to see all the parallels between those two movies).

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This weekend, I decided to experiment by looking at my own consumerism for the past month. I’ve created a website where I’ve documented it and will present it next time I meet for senior project. In the mean time, here are some shots of the site-in-progress: