Consumerism vs Simple Living

[emoney3]

Hi everyone! I'm researching how and why we consume beyond our needs for my dissertation and I'd love to know your opinions!

Do you consider yourself a mindful consumer?
Have you ever thought about all of the possessions in your life that hold no real value or are just a distraction from what is really important?
Do you want to change your purchasing habits in the future? If so, why and how?
Do you look at blogs and forums for advice around the topic of consumer or simple living? And if so, are they helpful? What are you looking to get from them?

Any comments, opinions and experiences will be greatly appreciated for my research!

Also, if you have a few minutes please fill out my survey about how market influences may be making you spend - https://elle10.typeform.com/to/FquPgR

[wren]

"I'm researching how and why we consume beyond our needs for my dissertation"

I found this paragraph in a book I just finished (from The Heartless Stone by Tom Zoellner)

"Veblen [economist Thorstein Veblen] coined the term 'conspicuous consumption' to define the need to conceal insecurities -- about looks, about weakness, about death -- by living as extravagantly as possible. Clothing fashions revolve so quickly in America and the rest of the affluent world because of a desire to maintain the appearance of being too rich to work. To wear last year's shoes is to unwittingly broadcast one's status as an outsider, which, according to Veblen, is viewed as a strange kind of moral failing. The worst possible sin against the herd is the failure to spend money. And so the display of the right kind of gewgaws on one's person registers high on the index of status because it suggests pleasure without effort. It is a false way to cover the pining inside, but it does bring a version of satisfaction in the moment. Beneath the colorless surface is a precipice of want. 'In order to be reputable,' wrote Veblen, it must be wasteful.' "

Zoellner's book is a fascinating look at the story of the diamond industry, which invented its own monopoly and market for a product that no one really 'needs' but everyone is supposed to want.

Information on Thorstein Veblen:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Thorstein_Veblen.aspx

[emoney3]

Brilliant, thanks for the response!