The term “consumers” is routinely used in place of “people” and “citizens.” While most people (consumers?) don’t notice or care much about the terms being used interchangeably, there are those who resent being labeled as “consumers,” as if their sole purpose and reason for existence on this planet is to consume—to eat, drink, use, watch, and buy stuff, and keep the economy humming along. Now, a new psychological study indicates that it may be in everyone’s interest if we stop referring to (insulting?) folks as mere consumers.
If you think shopping is a simple act based on simple human needs, you’re sadly mistaken. Either that or you’re a really good, amazingly efficient and unemotional shopper. For most consumers, shopping takes on meaning beyond a basic exchange of goods and currency, serving as therapy, entertainment, sport, drug, and sometimes, um, torture?
Could it be that consumers aren’t quite as gullible as marketers, manufacturers, and advertisers have long assumed? Could it be that today’s consumers are smarter and more informed than they have ever been when it comes to deciding whether to buy or pass on a product? Could it be that the age of mindless accumulation [...]
In the future, as depicted in the likes of “The Jetsons” and Woody Allen’s “Sleeper,” each person wears one outfit over and over again. Basically, predictors are saying that one day, fashion will be gone, and we’ll all wear uniforms. (Jerry Seinfeld had a joke along these lines, in which he can’t wait for the day when he doesn’t have to waste time figuring out what to wear). Rob Walker’s “Consumed” column, from the Sunday Times magazine, points out that, based on recent experiments in which artists wear the same outfit for months, perhaps a “uniform” future is arriving—and perhaps more importantly, we can all start saving money by buying less clothing.
