Consumerism is the purchasing of goods and services motivated by advertising that attracts consumers and which leads eventually to a lack of satisfaction. Acquiring products or services that meet the needs of each individual in a certain time makes consumerism unfulfilled. Also, consumerism can be defined as a form of stimulation that is not necessary. This is characteristic of capitalism. Consumers have to know how to manage their income among the variety of many goods and services available to purchase. However, I will not talk about the normal consumerism, but the irrational and compulsive consumerism. The merely irrational acquisition of consumer goods does not make a person entirely happy and satisfied. Compulsive consumerism makes consumers addicted to buying things that they do not need. As a consequence, the negative effects that consumerism present are overspending, stereotyping, and excessive dependency on technology.
The first negative effect of consumerism is overspending. Advertisers create an idea in consumers about why a certain product has to be purchased, even though consumers really do not need the product. In our society consumers always want to have the latest and innovative products from the market. Acquiring goods and services irrationally is a way to waste money. An example of this would be the release of new Apple iPhone 6 that came out on the market on September 23, 2014. Many people, especially young adults, made a pre-order to obtain the latest iPhone and get it before other customers even though they have the previous one in a perfect condition. Charles Derber who was a professor of sociology at Boston College, mentioned "Buy and you shall be happy". This illustrates that the more the people buy product, the happier they will supposedly be. It is a trick on how to manipulate the minds of consumers into believing that if they buy a product, it will make them happy.
