Is Cyberspace Causing the Consumerism Crisis?
The increasingly digital world we are living in has opened a tremendous gateway for communication, careers and convenient living. But, a less discussed yet equally notable consequence of our age of technology is the huge increase in consumerism it has brought about.
The escalation of e-commerce
The roots of e-commerce lead all the way back to 1965, where people could make cash withdrawals from ATMs and buy items using credit cards. Since then, the use of e-commerce has risen extortionately. People can now shop from the comfort of their own beds, barely having to lift a finger. With a whole world of goods available to sell and purchase on the small square screen right in front of you, of course the temptation is higher than ever. In June 2020, global retail e-commerce reached a ground-breaking $26.7 trillion in sales.
The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the push towards online shopping, as many shops were made to close during high risk times. However, once overall retail sales switched back to their pre-Covid numbers, in store sales were still down by almost 10%. These changes in consumer behaviour triggered by online shopping are closely followed by environmental havoc and social injustice. The increase in the volume of items being consumed itself is extremely damaging due to the resources being depleted, only to permanently end up in landfill a few years down the line. Planned obsolescence is at an all time high: this involves purposefully manufacturing and advertising items so that they’re thrown away after a certain period of time. This encourages consumers to buy more, and is a harmful strategy which prioritises profit over longevity. We have barely touched the surface on environmental consequences; consider the CO2 emissions generated from plastic packaging which is often used only once before being sent straight to landfill.
Not only this, but I feel unable to write anything which can accurately convey even a slight amount of the human rights breaches which are caused by our online shopping addictions. Boohoo is undergoing a “modern slavery investigation’ after a report found their staff in Leicester are being paid only £3.50 an hour, well under minimum wage. I attended a peaceful protest last Black Friday in response to this shocking information, but even when participating in actions like this I feel disheartened by the lack of awareness, and the clever cover ups through greenwashing and online marketing.
The advancement of advertising
The media has made consumers far easier for companies to reach, target and persuade. Stuart Ewen suggests the radio is responsible for the large amounts of consumption in the 1920s, much of which was funded by debt. He describes it to be “pumping information and entertainment into people’s homes… requiring no significant degree of literacy on the part of its audience, radio gave interested corporations … unprecedented access to the inner sanctums of the public mind”. This phenomenon has snowballed; we are now subject to an endless stream of data mining and personalised ads. Perhaps kickstarted by the radio’s ability to inject advertisements into people’s brains, marketing has become increasingly digitalised and incorporated into almost every part of our everyday lives, constantly changing our decisions as consumers.
The impacts of this are more than they seem at surface level. Of course we have already discussed the harrowing challenges to environmental sustainability and social justice brought about by such high levels of consumerism in our economy. This information is often discarded, because that’s the easiest thing to do when an issue is impersonal (a damaging but common mindset). But, what if I told you that you’re being directly affected right this minute.
Take a deep look at the advertisements you are victim to, and you will notice that your insecurities are being profited off. Robert Lane wrote that the aim of advertising is “to increase people’s dissatisfaction with any current state of affairs, to create wants, and to exploit the dissatisfactions of the present. Advertising must use dissatisfaction to achieve its purpose”: I couldn’t possibly put it better myself. Our digital world brings a high exposure to inescapable and intense marketing campaigns which profit off making you feel bad about yourself and trying to sell you a so called ‘solution’. Not only this, but the use of data mining creates online adverts which have used your personal data to hit home as hard as they can.
Don’t panic: the age of advertising can be positive too. Advertising can educate people regarding these matters and enhance the importance placed on sustainable products. According to NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business, products labelled as “sustainable” experienced a growth rate 5.6 times higher than those not.
The infiltration of influencers
Whether it is intentional or not, I can guarantee that anyone with a social media account has been subject to influencing. This can be detrimental to our Earth by encouraging a vast consumption of fast fashion and unnecessary items. I cannot deny it, I have been victim to this myself: the shoes I am wearing as I type this were purchased as a result of seeing them on my favourite fashion vlogger a few years ago.
But, it doesn’t have to be negative. I have since unfollowed many influencers; instead my page is full of my friends and family (and the occasional puppy playing with some ducklings). If this seems a bit forward for you, it isn’t the only option - you can still love your favourite celebrities while practising mindfulness with your consumption. Don’t fall for the adverts that are popping up all over your phone — try and only engage with content that will benefit you. The questions I ask myself before buying something: “was someone exploited in order to make this?”, “will I wear this piece of clothing more than 100 times in my life?” & “do I really need it?”.
The flip side
I felt it important to thoroughly discuss all the negative consequences brought about by technology’s push to consuming more, due to the fact that I feel it receives less recognition than all the benefits we reap from living in a digital society. However, I dare not dispute the mass of advantages. To name a few: the precious time we save on researching products by receiving personalised ads, the increased accessibility which is revolutionary for people who are less able to shop physically, the interconnectedness we have reached, the online jobs which minimise the need for a gruelling commute to work.
If we are aware of the consequences of our actions, which before reading this blog may have received less consideration, we can all immerse ourselves in the revolutionary age of technology without getting swept up in the chaos.
Reflection
Last year, I read the book ‘Notes on a Nervous Planet’ by Matt Haig. The book highlights the negative consequences of a digital society on us as individuals, and I found it highly influential. Ever since then, I have built up this idea in my head that the rise of the internet is a solely unfavourable phenomenon. These thoughts only snowballed: I found myself thinking disapprovingly about the people around me who spend large amounts of time online, and constantly wishing I was born in a different age where I would have dodged such a huge digital world.
My peers seem to have the opposite problem to me: always viewing their phones as such revolutionary and necessary components of their lifestyle. So, surely it can’t be all bad? This is why I was keen to take up the opportunity to take a course in Digital Society; I wanted to become more open minded and well informed about the positive aspects of technology so that I could challenge my cynical mindset and relate to the people around me who are so captivated by cyberspaces. I have learnt that despite all the challenges social media brings, it can also be embraced for social change and instigating relationships. In week nine I learnt that smart cities can be a wonderful catalyst for education, sustainability and reducing inequalities: something I had not thought about last year when I decided to naively form a hate-hate relationship with our digital society.
Ironically, I was challenged by the online nature of the course. I find independent study difficult because I am easily distracted and uneasily motivated — I worried that without the option to go to in person lectures and seminars I might fall off the wagon and find myself discarding the module. However, I set aside a couple of hours every Wednesday to complete the content and (almost) always stuck to it so that I had the best chance I could of completing it successfully. I believe my independent study skills have largely grown upon the completion of this module and I have shown myself I’m able to work of my own accord and to a good standard. I’ve also grown the ability to stick to a structured timetable and manage my time, a skill which will stick with me throughout the rest of my course and career (I hope). Not only have I improved my digital literacy skills through the use of a new platform and style of writing, but I have learnt that my procrastination can be conquered and an online module can be just as informative and enjoyable as an in person one- I won’t be holding back on signing up to them in the future!
With my new mindset on how to embrace the internet rather than resenting it, I believe I have learnt a necessary lesson which I can use to my advantage in the future and will prove inexplicably helpful when completing coursework and applying for jobs.
