to buy, or not to buy
an evolving diatribe on consumerism
Most people have experienced that dopamine rush when they see a package on their doorstep or when they buy a trinket from the shelf. This feeling may have felt benign. In truth, a confluence of psychological triggers spawned that decision to buy that pack of organic & GMO-free almond milk.
The annals of human behavior dictate that a certain individual will only buy an item from any venue if that item adds short-term utility to that individual’s life. This view has become too general in recent years. There is a slew of factors, including personal feelings, advertising, and trends, that can influence a person’s purchasing habits nowadays.
Everyone has a need or a want plaguing their psyche at a time. Whether it be weekly groceries or the occasional soul food binge, an average human is susceptible to evolutionary pressures. For some people, shopping is an emotional roller coaster rather than a scrupulous affair. They like handing the reins over to their gut instead of tangling with a logical dilemma every time they visit their favorite department store. Exploiting these psychological triggers and amplifying them by targeted & ubiquitous advertising tactics contribute to the underpinnings of modern-day consumerism.
A panoply of advertisements inundates everyone. These days, most people are carrying two or three ad conduits in their hands, pockets, and bags. Using big data, advertisements have been able to adapt to changing human behaviors and improve their prowess for subliminal messaging. The average human’s attention span has dwindled and thus TikTok ads for meditation apps are fifteen seconds long.
Physical stores have also been capitalizing on the availability of such data. Big-box retailers love skewing perspectives to entice customers into buying the 4-pack fleece set after walking past the extravagant televisions near the entrance. In general, media overconsumption and device addiction have only made it easier for large corporations to slither their tendrils into people’s lives. They have made it difficult for a person to say no to the overpriced joggers, especially when everyone else in that person’s clique is flaunting them.
Everyone is part of a social network. Each network has many interconnected nodes and channels that make it easy for ideas and trends to seep through. Trends naturally influence an individual’s buying habits. The likes and dislikes of the mob draw in humans because the sense of belonging is what most, if not all, social creatures strive for. Ask Maslow for further elucidation.
Because of social media, engineered & marketable lifestyles reign and these signify status for the common individual. Every day, markets are giving birth to hyper-targeted micro-brands on the Internet. These days, even a cyberpunk lumberjack can find a sublimely curated marketplace for buying beard cream with a dystopian aesthetic.
Brands power trends and since people use brands to gauge each other's swag these days, buyers are happy to spend an appreciable amount of their earnings to show that they prefer checks over stripes. Trends have always been a part of human history. Social media unshackled the beast and let it run rampant in the village.
While people may buy items due to genuine need at a certain time, most of their purchasing patterns are derived from their basal drives, subliminal reactions to advertising, and responses to trends. Purchasing can’t be pigeonholed as an art or a science. There are always psychological sublayers lurking. But who has time and patience to consider this before they purchase an iPhone 13 Pro Max to replace their iPhone 12 Pro Max?