Are you a consumerist?

PostAre you a consumerist? by **Prototype** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 10:28 am

*not a DML forum game*

The Xbox and PS5 threads got me thinking.

adjective
characterized by a preoccupation with the acquisition of consumer goods.

noun
a person who is preoccupied with the acquisition of consumer goods.

Is your life defined by the continual feedback loop of being excited to buy something new, buying it, and then quickly moving on to the next thing you *think* you're looking forward to?

Obviously your disposible income will play a part in the likelihood of you being one or the other, but I was just wondering what others thoughts are on this? I've definitely been in this cycle before but after my daughter was born i definitely reined it in a bit. I would've bought a PS4 at launch for example but was entirely non-plussed by its release so waited a few years and bought a slim when a multitude of games were available. However, i'm definitely more drawn in by the hysteria around the PS5 and Xbox launch this gen.

What makes you dive into something day 1? Is it the incessant advertising? Are you prone to watching youtube for reviews of things you're mildly interested in just to be greeted by someone so overly-enthusiastic about a product they've been ~~paid~~ asked to review?

I've put this in off topic as it's not really limited to gaming.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **Squinty** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 10:34 am

Yes. I have this with media. Games mostly, lately CDs. But I can always reign it in when I need to. Advertising doesn't really get me. It's probably the word of mouth that makes me think 'I must have that'. I rarely do really big purchases though.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **<]:^D** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 10:35 am

most definitely unfortunately. currently clothes. i cant stop myself :fp:

correction: i dont tend towards hype; just see something nice and think "ill have that!"

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **Peter Crisp** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 10:36 am

I don't think I am.
I'm getting both the new consoles at launch but other than that I don't buy an awful lot.
I despise clothes shopping and don't have many other hobbies other than reading, playing pool and going to the cinema.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **Zilnad** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 10:45 am

Unfortunately, yes. I think.

I wish I wasn't but it's all that I have to look forward to.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **Dual** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 10:50 am

No. I don't really like spending money and will usually wait for a good deal to make sure I'm getting best value. I usually spend weeks sometimes months thinking over purchases.

I wouldn't buy one of the new consoles at launch because they appear to be very expensive for hardware with no gamez. I would wait a year or two before even considering one.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **Prototype** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 11:07 am

Zilnad wrote:Unfortunately, yes. I think.

I wish I wasn't but it's all that I have to look forward to.

I know absolutely nothing about your personal life (apart from your neighbour issues) but i'd wager you have far more in your life to look forward to than spending money.

I only make this thread out of managing to run about a significant amount of debt on a credit card which i've 60% paid back so wondered if it might make people self-reflect.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **Zilnad** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 11:28 am

Prototype wrote:
Zilnad wrote:Unfortunately, yes. I think.

I wish I wasn't but it's all that I have to look forward to.

I know absolutely nothing about your personal life (apart from your neighbour issues) but i'd wager you have far more in your life to look forward to than spending money.

I only make this thread out of managing to run about a significant amount of debt on a credit card which i've 60% paid back so wondered if it might make people self-reflect.

You're probably right and if I think about it more, I'm far better than I used to be. I used to make big spends every month but rarely do that now. My new TV is the biggest spend I've made in over a year now.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **That** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 11:52 am

Everyone occasionally buys themselves something to cheer themselves up. I think that's an inevitable reflection of the kind of society we live in. We're constantly told to associate happiness with buying fancy new possessions.

I guess I just try to be aware of this pressure. It's definitely healthier to not completely give in to the cycle of consumerism. I try to be honest with myself and only buy things that I can afford and that I'm realistically going to use/enjoy.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **Wrathy** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 11:53 am

Pokemon cards taps into the very worst of this for me. Over the last few months they've been releasing a steady stream of high end products which I want for the collection. I dread to think how much money I've poured down the drain in pursuit of them, but it's definitely over the budget I set out.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **Moggy** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 11:55 am

I don't really care about having products just to buy them.

I have consoles because I like playing games, I have a nice telly because I like movies and games. I have a phone to contact people and use the internet while having a poo.

But other than that? I don't really care.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **Lex-Man** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 12:06 pm

I'm terrible when it comes to sales. I've bought so many books off Amazon for 99p and cheap bundles off of Humble Bundle that I never use. I like a nice restaurant as well.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **Trelliz** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 12:07 pm

As much as I want to think that I can see right through advertising etc and am immune to its effects, I'm as susceptible as anyone else, partly because it's designed to bypass our rational thoughts and appeal to our instinctive behaviours (see lootboxes thread) through artificial scarcity and promises of fulfillment while manufacturing and perpetuating the very system that keeps us feeling unsatisfied, selling us both the cause and solution of our problems at the same time. Karl, help me, I feel a bout of Guy Debord coming on...

For me it's definitely lessened on the videogame front, where companies marshal their fanbases into hysteria while taking them for a ride at the same time, but caring less about hiding it. However it has picked up in terms of wargaming, which is 100% consumerism but is also akin to buying art supplies; someone might sell you the materials/tools but you have to do the work and use your creativity to bring it all together. As much as I like Warhammer/Games Workshop, their relentless release pace and engineered FOMO is exhausting, so i'm definitely looking outside that bubble for games/ranges that are a lot more calm.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **OnlyShallow** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 12:48 pm

No. I tend to spend my money on going places rather than buying things. The last thing I bought was a good tent.

I use things until they break or are worn out, then I'll replace them.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **That** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 12:55 pm

Trelliz wrote:Karl, help me, I feel a bout of Guy Debord coming on...

It's OK, you can let it out...!

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **Red** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 1:06 pm

Not really - I don't have any hobbies that involve buying new things (I like hiking and visiting archaeological sites), I don't care about tech. I do have a lot of 'stuff' but it has accumulated over a long period rather than been the result of consistent spending. I always use things til they wear out, and I'm terrible for taking in people's old stuff and finding new uses for it.

I still spend too much money generally though, not sure where it goes. Secondhand books, OS maps, camping equipment, etc.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **Lotus** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 1:41 pm

Wouldn't have said so. The only things I buy for myself are games, and they're very, very rarely full-price or on release. I'm happy to wait until a game has been out for years before I buy it. I'm not one to spend a lot of money on clothes, shoes, music, lots of hobbies, fast food or takeaways - most of my money goes on necessities, or into savings.

I've never really understood people who are really impatient with buying things, have to buy them on release, have to have the latest phone or piece of technology, etc. Nothing wrong with it if they can afford it, it's just very at-odds with my approach and mindset.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **Garth** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 1:51 pm

Yep, somewhat, games and miniatures specifically, they are my weakness.

I have a large gaming backlog and a pile of unassembled miniatures but I'm still looking forward to lots of new stuff.

It's nice to have these distractions right now though, I think.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **Trelliz** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 2:05 pm

Karl_ wrote:
Trelliz wrote:Karl, help me, I feel a bout of Guy Debord coming on...

It's OK, you can let it out...!

Don't mind if i do!

Guy Debord, in 1967 wrote:The reigning economic system is a vicious circle of isolation. Its technologies are based on isolation, and they contribute to that same isolation. From automobiles to television, the goods that the spectacular system chooses to produce also serve it as weapons for constantly reinforcing the conditions that engender “lonely crowds."

The first stage of the economy’s domination of social life brought about an evident degradation of being into having — human fulfillment was no longer equated with what one was, but with what one possessed. The present stage, in which social life has become completely dominated by the accumulated productions of the economy, is bringing about a general shift from having to appearing — all “having” must now derive its immediate prestige and its ultimate purpose from appearances. At the same time all individual reality has become social, in the sense that it is shaped by social forces and is directly dependent on them.

The erasure of the personality is the fatal accompaniment to an existence which is concretely submissive to the spectacle’s rules, ever more removed from the possibility of authentic experience and thus from the discovery of individual preferences. Paradoxically, permanent self-denial is the price the
individual pays for the tiniest bit of social status. Such an existence demands a fluid fidelity, a succession of continually disappointing commitments to false products. It is a matter of running hard to keep up with the inflation of devalued signs of life.

PostRe: Are you a consumerist? by **rinks** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 2:43 pm

Moggy wrote:I don't really care about having products just to buy them.

I have consoles because I like playing games, I have a nice telly because I like movies and games. I have a phone to contact people and use the internet while having a poo.

But other than that? I don't really care.

Pretty much sums me up too. I’m not anti-consumerist, but I wouldn’t define myself as being positively consumerist. Context: I’m very keen to get the Series X. But my phone is six years old, and I could easily afford a new one, but I don’t want to spend the money on that, because there’s little point (until I’m begrudgingly forced into it by planned obsolescence). I’ve spent silly money on a glorious new TV (which I don’t regret for a second). But my car is 13 years old and gets me where I’m going, comfortably.

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