Poll of the Day > Are you addicted to consumerism?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I see a lot of topics from a couple users in particular that have me wondering. How many of you are wasting your lives mindlessly acquiring whatever hot new thing your corporate overlords tell you to?

Were you really excited about baby Yoda?
Do you collect plastic/resin?
Do you eat a lot of garbage and find yourself looking forward to the next fad from Burger kink or whatever fast food joint?
Do you spend more than two hours every day staring at a screen for enjoyment?
Do you have no productive hobbies?
Do you regularly spend less than 3 hours outdoors in a day (inside a vehicle doesn't count as outdoors)

If you answered yes to any of those questions, it's probably yes.

Why not...

Were you really excited about baby Yoda?

No, although I did like the first 1.5 seasons of the Mandalorian. (Which is rare for me as I usually hate TV)

Do you collect plastic/resin?

No. Is that a thing?

Do you eat a lot of garbage and find yourself looking forward to the next fad from Burger kink or whatever fast food joint?

Some garbage, but it's always the same old garbage. No new fads.

Do you spend more than two hours every day staring at a screen for enjoyment?

Yes, and I doubt there's a person on GameFAQs who could answer no. :)

Do you have no productive hobbies?

Define "productive". Some people like to croquet, but I don't see that filling a house full of croqueted stuff is really productive in any way that's improving their lives. I mountain bike.

Do you regularly spend less than 3 hours outdoors in a day (inside a vehicle doesn't count as outdoors)

Yes.

MightBeOverSoon posted...

If you answered yes to any of those questions, it's probably yes.

I think you covered more than "consumerism" there.

wpot posted...

I think you covered more than "consumerism" there.

Indeed, especially where so few of those things actually require any sort of incremental purchase.

Yes indeed people collect plastic. Gundam, Warhammer toys etc.

And yes indeed I did cover more than just consumerism, but that's only because the things listed are signs of a consumerism addicted lifestyle. Not guarantees of course, which is why I added the "probably" qualifier

It's good that you have an active and outdoor hobby

https://youtu.be/-adCHSWhisc

DirtBasedSoap posted...

https://youtu.be/-adCHSWhisc

lmao

MightBeOverSoon posted...

I see a lot of topics from a couple users in particular that have me wondering. How many of you are wasting your lives mindlessly acquiring whatever hot new thing your corporate overlords tell you to?

Were you really excited about baby Yoda?
Do you collect plastic/resin?
Do you eat a lot of garbage and find yourself looking forward to the next fad from Burger kink or whatever fast food joint?
Do you spend more than two hours every day staring at a screen for enjoyment?
Do you have no productive hobbies?
Do you regularly spend less than 3 hours outdoors in a day (inside a vehicle doesn't count as outdoors)

If you answered yes to any of those questions, it's probably yes.

No
No
Yesno
Yes
Yes but currently in a state of utter laziness and constant drunkenness
Yes

Thanks for parodying me. I don't think know what consumerism is.

Don't ask questions, just consume

I don't think that people addicted to consumerism are going to admit it. Like the people who drink all day and say they don't really drink that much.

joemodda posted...

Don't ask questions, just consume

Don't forget to get excited for the next product!

TC should have paid more attention to fight club

If you were on my level you would also live in an apartment with jack shit in it. That was definitely intentional.

If you want to start a commune/cult then I'm down. But also don't touch my computer. In a modern day fight club the narrator would be buying steam games they know they'll never play.

KayEm posted...

I don't think that people addicted to consumerism are going to admit it.

Even worse, I'd argue that consumerism isn't even really the bane of the modern age. In some ways, we've kind of passed through that particular cloud and come out the other side.

I'd argue the current crippling weakness is Internet addiction - and all the things that stem from it. Like getting an adrenaline rush from manufactured outrage, or losing focus from constant information saturation, or the slow polarizing of ideas and calcification of minds from endless echo-chamber discourse, or constantly being lied to every second of the day and slowly losing the ability to distinguish fact from fiction.

Or as this topic sort of illustrates, getting off on the rush of feeling morally superior from judging other people.

The Internet has the potential to represent the absolute best in humanity, but most of the time it's just bringing out the absolute worst in us. Or just lulling us into complete passiveness in a way that mindless conspicuous consumerism only wishes it could.

But people are never going to admit to that one. Especially, you know, here on the Internet.

It's always easier to see the flaws and biases we don't have in other people than the ones we do in ourselves.

The internet is definitely accelerating societal decline, but it is and would be occurring even without it right now.

Long story short societies pull together and pull apart in long cycles. Either a society is excited to be together and is on the upswing (usually because of some sort of shared religion, shared success, or - most typically - to confront a threat everyone is scared of) or it is full of people who are getting tired of each other, no longer can think of a reason they need each other, and is pulling apart. The word is decadent, and that's where Western societies are at right now.

The US and 'the West' knew what it stood for during WW1 and WW2: (relative) free individuality/religion, anti-authoritarianism, and if nothing else not being murderous. That's a side that it feels good to be on. Was the West perfect? No, of course not, but it sure looked better than being on any other team, and that felt good (for most people) in those countries.

But nobody remembers that anymore, there is no threat that's TRULY scaring us, and we're now finding fault with those we previously were happy to join up with. The internet didn't cause that (it had started by the 90s) but it certainly accelerated it. It is clear that something significant (and not good) is going to have to happen to reverse the trend.

wpot posted...

There is no threat that's TRULY scaring us, and we're now finding fault with those we previously were happy to join up with.

It is clear that something significant (and not good) is going to have to happen to reverse the trend.

https://www.sott.net/image/s22/441379/full/quote_perhaps_we_need_some_out.jpg

Are you addicted to consumerism? No. I don't follow trends, I don't collect stuff, I avoid advertising like the plague, I typically don't care or follow release dates and have no problem waiting for games I'm interested in to go on sale. I haven't bought a new console since the 7th gen.
Do you spend your days mindlessly consuming whatever dogshit the world wants to shill upon you? - I'll cop to enjoying some mindless entertainment but I'm picky about what I consume and always have been.
Were you really excited about baby Yoda? - No, I'm not into star wars.
Do you collect plastic/resin? - No. I own dice and minis for D&D, but I'm not a collector, and I own more dice than I need in case other people need to borrow them.
Do you eat a lot of garbage - Yes
and find yourself looking forward to the next fad from Burger kink or whatever fast food joint? - No, I'm picky about food, I stick to stuff I know I like for the most part.
Do you spend more than two hours every day staring at a screen for enjoyment? Yes. This is a separate issue from being addicted to consumerism though.
Do you have no productive hobbies? Define productive. Hobbies are for fun, and the notion that you need to always be productive or grind helps fuel consumerism anyway.
Do you regularly spend less than 3 hours outdoors in a day (inside a vehicle doesn't count as outdoors) - Yes, I'm mostly uninterested in outdoors activities. Besides, outdoor hobbies can be commercialized and marketed for consumption too.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

https://www.sott.net/image/s22/441379/full/quote_perhaps_we_need_some_out.jpg

...there you go - aliens it is. Unfortunately some leaders (like, say, Putin) are cynical enough to create their own outside threats in order to create a crisis that they hope will make people feel the need to pull together under their authoritarian leadership.

Trump would love to do this as well, I'm sure, if he could provoke China further.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

The Internet has the potential to represent the absolute best in humanity, but most of the time it's just bringing out the absolute worst in us.

Freud might have described the Internet as humanity's collective id.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/5/1/AAQwHjAAEgdv.jpg

MightBeOverSoon posted...

Were you really excited about baby Yoda?

I've never even seen that show

Do you collect plastic/resin?

Very little, mostly stuff that I like

Do you eat a lot of garbage and find yourself looking forward to the next fad from Burger kink or whatever fast food joint?

I don't eat as well as I should, but I don't eat trendy fast food. If I eat out it tends to be a local Greek hole-in-the-wall, a local Mexican chain, fish & chips, or a basic cheeseburger.

Do you spend more than two hours every day staring at a screen for enjoyment?

Yes, but mostly for socialization with others.

Do you have no productive hobbies?

I have plenty of hobbies

Do you regularly spend less than 3 hours outdoors in a day (inside a vehicle doesn't count as outdoors)

Given that I have to work 8 hours a day, have a commute of 60-75 minutes, and I need to sleep, cook, eat, and bathe, there's not a whole lot of time to spend outside. But I do usually spend at least an hour walking every morning, and 15 minutes to an hour or more caring for my horse and goats every afternoon.

MightBeOverSoon posted...

I see a lot of topics from a couple users in particular that have me wondering. How many of you are wasting your lives mindlessly acquiring whatever hot new thing your corporate overlords tell you to?

Were you really excited about baby Yoda?
Do you collect plastic/resin?
Do you eat a lot of garbage and find yourself looking forward to the next fad from Burger kink or whatever fast food joint?
Do you spend more than two hours every day staring at a screen for enjoyment?
Do you have no productive hobbies?
Do you regularly spend less than 3 hours outdoors in a day (inside a vehicle doesn't count as outdoors)

If you answered yes to any of those questions, it's probably yes.

no
yes
no
yes
no
yes

yes

No. I'm selective about what I consume and how much.

Vampire_Chicken posted...

Freud might have described the Internet as humanity's collective id.

He'd probably also nod sagely at the current trend towards incest porn.

And then he'd say "Fucking called it."

No.

I have too high of an IQ to fall for consumerism. I spend all my time angry and complaining that people are enjoying themselves by buying things. My IQ is HIGH.

TomNook posted...

No.

I have too high of an IQ to fall for consumerism. I spend all my time angry and complaining that people are enjoying themselves by buying things. My IQ is HIGH.

Must be hard to mingle with the commonfolk with an IQ so high. My IQ isn't high enough to not trade dollars for dopamine yet tbh. I hope one day I can be like you, but nature vs nurture is a thing.

PMarth2002 posted...

Do you spend more than two hours every day staring at a screen for enjoyment? Yes. This is a separate issue from being addicted to consumerism though.
Do you have no productive hobbies? Define productive. Hobbies are for fun, and the notion that you need to always be productive or grind helps fuel consumerism anyway.
Do you regularly spend less than 3 hours outdoors in a day (inside a vehicle doesn't count as outdoors) - Yes, I'm mostly uninterested in outdoors activities. Besides, outdoor hobbies can be commercialized and marketed for consumption too.

I agree. First of all, video games is a type of enjoyment usually requiring staring at screens, so most people here would be doing so for a long time. Video games are a hobby, and it's true hobbies are for fun. I wouldn't call these consumerism.

I do not spend much time outdoors because I severely hate the outdoors with a passion. I have a low tolerance for pain and discomfort, and I can't stand the discomfort and inconvenience caused by wind, bugs, dirty things, rain, snow, or temperatures. I am very paranoid about being dirty. Once I've been outside, I will not touch my bed until I take a shower. I call the outdoors the death zone. This has nothing to do with consumerism.

I do not follow trends. In fact, stupid and irresponsible I often don't know a trend until it is too late so I often feel left behind. Actually, I hate most trends. I also hate eating, so I do not eat a lot.