Consumerism Effects on Physical and Mental Health
Beginning in the late 1940’s after the second World War there were different things were occurring throughout the country, like men returning from war, the baby boom and the beginning of consumer spending. With Truman creating Federal Programs that gave men and women government jobs, this created a way for the economy to be stimulated and for the USA to grow into the economic powerhouse it has become. People spent and spent getting luxury items like cars, kitchen appliances, washer and dryers and in this process we became a consumer driven society. Most of this spending came from home and family desires and creating “The American Dream” with a white picket fence and living in the suburbs. This false ideology drove consumerism to the next level in America creating many people with materialistic behaviors, creating the idea of “keeping up with the Jones’s This era developed the ideas of consumerism and the need for more not understanding the consequences of using credit cards resulting in bad consumer habits that can directly affect a persons happiness and their well -being. Between the 60 years from the beginning of the economic boom to the after recession, technology has developed far beyond what it once was creating more and more needs to the society. These technological advancements in media like phones, computers, and the internet have affected the consumer behavior and purchasing habits of every American consumer in the twenty first century. The current consumer behavior has many negative side effects for people and companies that can be seen from the very beginning of the consumer driven society/economy we live in. Some major aspects to these negative views have to do with various marketing principles and how marketers use that against people. These issues that have affected the society include marketing/advertising to kids and materialism along with how...