Choked by Consumerism

Earlier this week I happened upon (ht: Becoming Minimalist) this wonderfully produced series of short videos about material goods and their stifling effect on the average middle-class American family. If you have six minutes, it's definitely worth a look.





It really got me to thinking about how most people live, and it's shocking that we take for granted having junk piled up everywhere. I don't think a lot of people even realize how much stuff they have because they're so used to it. Even if your house is more organized than the ones in the video, you probably have a lot more crap than you think. Never is this fact more obvious than on moving day, which unfortunately is far too infrequently for most people. This is exactly what I'm avoiding -- inflexibility, suffocation, entrapment. Look at the people and things in the video and ask yourself honestly: who owns whom?

Advertising and Contentment

Two things I saw yesterday provided the inspiration for this post. 

First, I was watching an online video, and in a 90-second commercial break, I was shown the same 30-second ad three times. If it had been something I was actually interested in, it would have at least been a wise investment on the part of the company, but clearly they did not do any sort of tracking of my interests. The commercial was for a pickup truck, and it emphasized how tough it was, and how different industries prefer their truck over others. Besides the fact that I am the exact opposite demographic who buys their product -- white-collar, urban-dwelling females really don't care about trucks -- they showed the commercial three times in a row, which is simply terrible programing. 

Not long after, I stumbled upon this article. Several companies have patented devices for monitoring what's going on in your house, and delivering targeted advertisements. Now Verizon has one that monitors your conversations and advertises to you based on what you talk about. I'm not the only person who has reacted to this news with dismay, and I can't imagine what would motivate somebody to actually allow one of these devices in their house. It's not so much my fear of being watched -- my life is really freaking boring -- but I do worry about the insidious nature of advertisements on our lifestyles.

I'd like to think I've reached a point where advertisements don't work on me, but I'm probably just being naive. Yeah, ads for pickup trucks won't work -- you can't create desire where none ever existed -- but I can probably think of a few things that might appeal to me. The best advertisements appeal to our insecurities, and offer enticements to real happiness. There's no doubt that I'm full of insecurities, and thus, still vulnerable.