Attempts to Solve a Problem the Society Faces Today

Consumerism is the act of defending and promoting the interests of consumers in a society. This act is linked to a variety of elements, and the implications are that the challenges that result from protecting consumers touch a variety of areas, including the political, social, and economic components of society. Because of the large number of individuals affected by consumerism, finding solutions to its problems is frequently challenging. The population of the United States of America, for example, is somewhat more than 321 million people, demonstrating the severity of the challenge associated with resolving consumerism issues.
 Green consumerism refers to a situation where the buyers are only willing to buy products if they are produced in a manner that does not negatively affect the natural environment. There are complications that are associated with green consumerism concerning the environment and thus the general effect on the livelihoods of people is felt. When the demand for goods increases, the need to produce them rises. Consequently, the raw materials required for production processes are obtained from the natural environment (Sharma, and Seema, 206). The resultant effect is that the surroundings have to be interfered with thus the long-term effect is felt when the climatic conditions begin deteriorating. Most consumers consider the environmental effects of their purchasing, in the United States as is shown in diagram 1 below.

Diagram 1



A better way to solve the problem of interfering with the environment is through using products that do not require the destruction of the surroundings for production. Many nations have begun shifting their attention to such products and Indian consumers, for example, are buying energy saving appliances in large numbers, thus avoiding the destruction of environment for the purposes of obtaining energy for consumption (Aasha, and Joshi, 208). The increasing concern of the consumers worldwide about the environment is one major factor that helps to reduce the damage that may arise due to the interference of the environment for the purposes of production. Civic education regarding environmental conservation procedures can assist to a large extent the fight to overcome destroying the human surroundings.

Political Consumerism

Political consumerism outlines the idea that the decisions regarding consumption are also ethical in nature and the consumer can also influence their societies by virtue of their decisions. The problems that come due to this kind of consumerism are related to the choices that buyers make. Justice, fairness, and social wellbeing are some of the major factors that are featured in the choices concerning purchases of products by consumers. Political and ethical consumerism can be carried out in two ways, boycotting which represents positive buying and boycotting which involves negative buying (Sinclair, 2).

The problem of boycotting, therefore, arises due to the expression of political sentiments that are attributed to the decisions of the consumers. Campaigns against the United States due to their stand in the Iraq war are enough evidence of the effects of political consumerism. Herein, the purchase of certain commodities is restricted or done with the aim of inflicting negative consequences. In the 19th century the boycotts of not buying jewelry in Europe negatively affected this region and that is why it is important to understand that political consumerism has a negative impact on the society (Sinclair, 5).

Efforts of trying to solve the problems regarding political consumerism may include making the right political decisions. The consumers of products need to make correct decisions regarding information about politics, which is presented to them. Wrong choices are the major contributors towards political consumerism. The political parties, therefore, are the main actors and for that reason should take the responsibility of relaying the correct information to the public (Sinclair, 7). This shall help the people to make proper decisions on the basis of correct data thus overcoming the problems associated with political consumerism.

Media Connection to Political Consumerism

The connection that exists between the media and politics is very influential to the extent that the public opinion can be manipulated over social platforms. Political participation is better explained by the social media activity and this has a substantial effect on political consumerism (De Zúñiga et al. 492). The specific actions that take place in groups that bear political affiliations are a big measure for political participation and thus consumerism. The connection that links politics and media is also the source of some problems that cause the societies of today get affected especial on social and economic issues. Civic actions like political consumerism are predicted by the size of the online network and thus it is critical to understand the engagements associated with the civic acts. The connection between media and political consumerism results to negative civic engagement because of the chat rooms that are in the social media platforms. Hence, the participation of the public in the chat rooms can have a negative effect on the political decisions make, which are attributed to the negative civic engagement. This is a problem to the society as it eventually comes to haunt the social and economic orientation of the people (De Zúñiga et al. 493). The diagram 2 below, represented by chart 4, shows political participation amongst the youth over the years.

Diagram 2



In an attempt to work out the solution for the problem associated with the links between the media and political consumerism, it is crucial to note that the political parties involved have the responsibility to act on good will. The public as well have the mandate to act in the best interests of the nation when engaging themselves in the online chat rooms as this will influence the social and economic structure of the society, thus political consumerism defects shall be addressed (De Zúñiga et al. 493). Changing the individual behavior of the social media participants regarding what they post in the chat rooms shall help positively affect the decisions that the public make concerning politics.

The Consumerist Society from Economic Point of View

The fight for resources has increased globally and this is primarily due to the greed for more consumption. Global inequality has taken the center stage because of the rise in consumption in the wealthier countries as compared to the poor nations. The problem associated with consumerism herein is the inequality in consumption as it results to worsening the situation of the poor nations in the society while bettering that of the rich countries and this has can be explained by the diagram three below. Thus, the ideologies of consumption have literally created barriers to the patterns of the consumers hence further widening the ridge between the poor and the rich (Janisz, 78).

Diagram 3



The problem of global inequality in the consumption patterns of nations can be solved if the consumers can first care about their needs. The importance of caring about one’s needs is that this will give rise to the feeling of the needs that is consistent to reality. Consequently, the tremendous increase in consumption patterns that is witnessed in the richer counties shall be minimized thus the poor nations can now find the opportunity to grow. Eliminating the feeling for the need for things that a consumer does not really require, which is propagated by issues like advertisements can be a great step towards mitigating the problem of consumerism of global inequality (Janisz, 84).

Conclusion

Consumerism is an important aspect in the society, but it is crucial to note that it has problems that challenge the livelihoods of people in today’s world. Ranging from political, to social, and economic effects, consumerism can be mitigated if the correct procedures are implemented. The social media participation has to be behaviorally ethical and the political parties should take up responsibility if consumerism in this sector id to be curbed. Similarly, the environment and economic conditions that relate to consumerism should be guarded closely to accomplish the goal of handling the problems that come with it.

Works Cited

De Zúñiga, Homero Gil, Copeland, Lauren, and Bimber, Bruce. "Political consumerism: Civic engagement and the social media connection." New Media & Society 16.3 (2014): 488-506. Thousand Oaks. SAGE Publishing.

Janisz, Ahmad. "The ideology of consumption: The challenges facing a consumerist society." J. Pol. & L. 7 (2014): 77. New York City. Helvidius Group.

Sharma, Aasha, and Seema, Joshi. "Green consumerism: overview and further research directions." International Journal of Process Management and Benchmarking 7.2 (2017): 206-223. Geneva. Inderscience Publishers.

Sinclair, Martin. "Political Consumerism: Money Talks." (2008). American Political Science Review Journal. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.