We don't need so many products and services to live
The notion of hyperconsumption is used by several sociologists and philosophers to refer to excessive consumerism . Hyperconsumption implies that human beings consume more than they need, satisfying not only their basic needs, but also desires linked to leisure and pleasure .
More than necessary
Hyperconsumption, in this way, is associated with hedonism . For the Frenchman Gilles Lipovetsky , people aspire to live experiences that give them sensations and emotions , with which consumption points to the affective and participatory .
This willingness to consume more than necessary generates great pressure on the planet . Natural resources, in this framework, cannot be regenerated and may even disappear given the productive level required to cover the demand of hyperconsumption.
As part of that emotional consumption that Lipovetsky speaks of, a search for the novelty develops. One of the characteristics of hyperconsumption is that old products are not repaired and are even discarded while they are working simply to make way for the new.
use and throw away
Hyperconsumption, on the other hand, is part of the so-called use-and-discard or throwaway society . There is a consumption dynamic encouraged by marketing and based on the premise that "the greater the consumption, the greater the well-being." Thus the unnecessary is taken as necessary thanks to the effect of advertising campaigns , for example.
Critics of hyperconsumption maintain that it is essential to move towards a stage of responsible consumption . Otherwise, the Earth will not be able to withstand the depredation of natural resources and the generation of garbage that this lifestyle causes.
But no matter how much some opponents try to make humanity aware of these issues, the force of the market seems impossible to stop . We have been subjected to the influence of advertising for too long, which today sneaks into all our devices, including our watches, reminding us at every step "what we should buy, who we should be."
It is true that change should be born in each of us: we should find the peace that our distant ancestors had, re-conceive ourselves as natural beings , who do not depend on commercial products to exist. If we achieved this goal, advertisements would have no effect on us. In any case, the market would also have to undergo a profound transformation to offer only “necessary” products.
Consequences of hyperconsumption
All human beings with a minimum level of access to the media are subject to advertising campaigns. Although in theory these serve to make the public aware of the companies' offers of products and services, currently it is impossible to deny that their true intention is to convince us that "we cannot live without them."
Hyperconsumption requires a lot of money, but it does not lead to happiness
This effect of restlessness and anxiety is negative for everyone, but especially for those with lower purchasing power . The wealthiest people who fall into these advertising traps are not necessarily happier than those who can only look behind the window, but at least they buy everything they want. The rest suffer from not being able to do so.
In short, hyperconsumption is the culmination of a big lie, which takes forms such as "he who has more is happier" or others expressed in the previous paragraphs. Because at the end of the day, since money cannot make up for the lack of love, unhappiness cannot be cured with purchasing power. At best, binge shopping can help us “distract” ourselves from our real problems for a while, until we notice them again and the cycle of hyperconsumption begins again.