Do we know what we want?
Adam Smith, the Scottish economist and philosopher and the founding father of capitalism, discussed his purchase of a better watch in his not that much well-known philosophical writing The Theory of Moral Sentiments.
“But the person so nice with regard to this machine, will not always be found either more scrupulously punctual than other men, or more anxiously concerned upon any other account, to know precisely what time of day it is. What interests him is not so much the attainment of this piece of knowledge, as the perfection of the machine which serves to attain it.”
Indeed, with the technological transformation and development, the amount of gadgets we live off today is at an unprecedentedly high level, unimaginable even a mere couple decades ago. In contrast to the nail polisher and ear picker that Adam Smith was familiar with, smartphones, tablets, pcs, wearables, and game consoles fill us in. The GlobalWebIndex, a survey-led research center, reported that the typical digital consumer owns 3.2 devices three years ago. Not sure how “the typical digital consumer” is defined, as I believe all social participants nowadays have to go somewhat digital to access abundant information, spread at zero (or close to zero) costs in the virtual web that connected each other. However, one thing I am sure that the average 3.2 devices is going rather up than down, despite all the recycling programs that major outlets are offering and the widely mis-interpreted “less-is-more” fad.
I am not here to challenge that we should go back to the good old days reading newspaper while listening to vinyl records from the needle (although it would be for different reasons and wonderful experiences for a throw-back night), but rather to own and utilize products for their functionality, practicality, or beauty. Make sure that you buy the Rolex watch to be a more punctual person than having it until the more luxurious looking one catches up your eyes and gauges your wallet, use that new iPad Pro for multi-tasking and higher processing power to be more productive than a post on instagram, and wear that beautiful Chanel flats for the elegancy while taking good care of it. Get out of the hedonist treadmill and stop chasing the next better thing - or at least have the awareness when we are doing so. We are the consumers, and shall not be consumed by the consumerism. We sometimes need to pause the button of proclaiming and supporting “America runs on consumption,” and self-inspecting what do we - and each individual - run on.
Yet, in order not to be dominated by the dominating consumerism in the society, a couple of questions emerge here to ask ourselves. Are we consuming what we want, or are we being told to want something? Who is telling us what we want? Does the functionality sincerely attract me, or is it because my best friend is flashing the three-eyes cam and I have to join the troop? How many lipsticks that I bought ended up on the shelf for display, if not in the corner of lower drawer in oblivion? Do we know what we want?
While fashion industry is selling off the luxurious and splendid lifestyle, food industry is convincing us that more cheese is desirable, nutritional supplements are constantly reminding us that we are not living to life’s full potentials, I was utterly confused by my ignorance of my wants, and a lot of times ended up irritated for all the stuffs the world is expecting me to spend on. One statistic strikes me dearly. Excessive food consumption on certain parts of the world has raised the obesity and overweight issue to near triple since 1975, while a great part of the world is still left unfed. Think about the consumption mechanism. We are convinced to consume excessive amount of food, spending on restaurants and take-outs - score 1 for GDP. Then we become overweight so here comes dieting supplements - score 2. Maybe while in the vicious cycle of fighting to consume yet lose weight, some psychological issues are triggered (not even kidding) and thus we need mental health consultation - score 3, if not medications for whatever health-related reasons. Each of those industry worth billions and trillions of dollar. No wonder consumerism appeals to the economy!
So do we really know what we want, independent of what the world wants us to want? This is a much deeper question that we should bear in mind. In regards to consumption, all I am trying to say is to be a wise consumer and not be consumed by the consumerism. Be extra careful to what your heart tells you, because it could be deceptive sometimes, manipulated by social interactions. Maybe add the thing you want so much when you are self-convinced as a dire need in the basket, hold it off for a couple of days and see if we indeed want it. Look at the money in your pocket and balance out with all bills, savings, and see if you have a little extra for the indulgence. I am not to preach a lifestyle, a lesson from the wise, or whatsoever. Just that I removed the Valentino rockstud flats from my shopping cart when ordering from Harrods, I would like to share some thoughts that might have inspired certain awareness when it comes to consumption.
Share the TED talk from Malcolm Gladwell (highly recommend to check out his books - Outliers and Blink)
Despite his focus on variability in the talk, the interesting story of Dijon mustard does shed some lights that people’s wants do not originate from within, but are presented and stimulated.
Be careful of what you want
Make it your own journey
Picture from Unsplash
Resources
https://blog.globalwebindex.com/chart-of-the-day/digital-consumers-own-3-point-2-connected-devices/
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
