Media, Information and Technoculture 3216F/G Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Narcissism, Existential Crisis, The Yes Album
30 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
Consumerism = shared set of ideas that tells us that stuff will make us happy. Prior to the 1900s, consumption was associated with destruction and waste; as described in the williams reading, overconsumption was associated with sin and economic injustice. After the 1900s, consumption was seen as a status marker; as described in the. Williams reading, overconsumption was a symbol of success and economic survival. As an institution, consumption mediates a culture characterized by: perpetual change, perpetual discontent, perpetual striving, perpetual sense of insecurity. Consumption instills both anxiety and happiness in consumers: we live in an age of anxiety and, as such, commodities are now commonly sold to us as a means of addressing this anxiety. As described in the bauman reading, we expect that consumption will bring us happiness even though this quest for happiness through consumption is characterized by a perpetual state of discontent, or melancholy.
