#consumerism

#consumerism

Every August, the US Open rolls into Queens with its ever-expanding rituals of consumption. Fans don't just buy in, they perform it: the $23 Honey Deuce held aloft for Instagram, the $40 lobster roll posted before the first serve, the $100 caviar-topped chicken nuggets bought as much for the flex as the flavor. The tennis has never been the cheapest day out, but lately the sticker shock feel less like a barrier than the point.

I've been telling Mabel she'll be four soon for about a month. I bought her present similarly early, though I am unsure whether to wrap it. When the Amazon guy delivers a gift from my sister on the day, he wishes Mabel happy birthday through the gate. As I sing the opening bars, the build-up has clearly worked: she jumps up with excitement and licks my knees.

If you saw Martin Parr and didn't know who he was, you would barely notice him. He is Mr Invisible and Mr Normal rolled into one, in his sensible jumper probably from Marks & Spencer and sensible socks and sandals. He has a neat side parting and neatly cut hair. He has a mild and conventional manner and a mild and conventional appearance. There is something of the naff birdwatcher about him. But do not be fooled.

The artwork, painted on a train signalling box in Croydon in 2019, depicts a rat hanging onto the arm of a clock and is now displayed at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden.

Light pollution, energy use, and street safety are just the surface-level problems. These trucks are part of a bigger system - one that tells us to always want more, even when our planet can't keep up.

In the 1980s, the world's largest producer of shoes was the Communist Soviet Union, turning out 800 million pairs a year, yet queues formed for foreign shoes.

Vance Packard identified "planned obsolescence" as a sales tactic that encouraged consumers to buy more by making older products seem outdated or intentionally short-lived.

The Federal Reserve's reduction of 0.50% in interest rates this year will encourage borrowing, potentially boosting consumerism and affecting stock market dynamics.

"Materialists" winds up turning romance on its head to explore some of its unseemliest unspoken truths, marking the emergence of a new genre: the rom-con.

This ongoing struggle is taking a toll. A 2023 study published by Frontiers in Psychology found that materialism is consistently associated with mental health problems like depression and anxiety.

In his new book 1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times, Ross Benes explores one fateful year and its impact on everything from network television to consumerist mania.

This is the first of two articles exploring a fundamental shift I believe entrepreneurs have a responsibility to embrace - one that frees consumers from unprecedented levels of debt.

"I can't sit home any longer" reflects the concern of individuals like Todd Katzman about the Trump administration's policies that marginalize LGBTQ communities, immigrants and others.