Consumerism is the worst gift the western world gave to us. Moreover, it is the most celebrated gift in our country, because it has been sold to us in the name of standard of living.

Before writing my views on increasing, I would like to mention some quotes on it-

1. The new slavery is consumerism.

2. What consumerism really is, at its worst is getting people to buy things that don’t actually improve their lives.

3. We live in era of consumerism and its all about desire-based consumerism and it has nothing to do with the things we actually need.

According to me the biggest achievement of the western world lies in the fact that they were able to quantify the term standard of living. Today a huge TV, AC, IOT, AI, nuclear family, a car, fancy clothes etc. are all indicators of a good standard of living. If we think rationally, life is no different if we have nothing that is mentioned above. But Over the years the quantified concept of standard of living has been engraved into our minds with such perfection that we spend our lives in chasing things. We consume and consume without even thinking do we really need them or can we afford the things we are chasing. Digital marketing, taglines, digital payments, 0% finance, offers, cash backs, brands ambassadors, advertisements etc are all mirages that make us consume things. 

In this blog I would like to talk about how digital payments, finance, digital education act as a bait for a consumer to consume more and more even when he don’t need it. 

Digital payments  have a huge role to play in growing consumerism. Yes, it keeps out the black money out of the market to some extent but it aggravates consumerism too. Physical payments helps us keep track of our expenses, digital payments makes it quite difficult for us to do so. Moreover, cashbacks and various other schemes on credit and debit cards make us spend fast and buy many things we don’t even need. Our expenses on online food delivery apps is best example to explain the whole point. Another thing that has proliferated the market these days is 0% finance by bajaj, HDFC and individual brands. Cashbacks, easy finance, offers have made people chase things which they cannot afford and in many cases the things they don’t even need. It has not only increased consumerism but is also taking toll over many people’s financial health (this is whole different topic). Moreover 0% finance is a myth and how they promote it, is a biggest scam (if you are not aware about how it works, you can ask in comment section). 

Let us talk about consumerism in field of education. Education, that I personally think should be a public good has become a commodity these days (Free lectures on youtube and other online learning app don’t make education a public good). We are consuming so much education these days that it is impossible to digest. Advertisement like Clear IAS in 1st attempt, 30 days IIT/JEE course is same as attracting a buyer by promising finance on 0% interest rate. We are feeding untested, unchecked, unregulated content to our students through digital platforms like Byjus’s, youtube etc.It is so ironical that Shahrukh Khan and IPL attracts us to the online learning app’s, and not the teachers who teach on them. 

Lust for degrees is endless these days. But do we really need them? Do we really need 10 lakh engineering graduates per year from our country? Do we really need B.A graduates who cannot find jobs? Why make a undignified student get a degree when he can do same work without a graduation? Why not give a skill than a bookish knowledge to such person? Why show him pseudo dreams(100% placement guaranteed) just to make him get admitted to a college? Why make him consume and spend on knowledge that will not help him in his life?  

Don’t make your buying decision based on offers, discounts and prices. 

Buy on the basis of your needs.

Be a master of your own choices.