Post by wicary35 on Nov 16, 2011 20:50:32 GMT -5
If you took a walk through an average town in America what would you find? Cliques of girls with Coach bags and North Face jackets would be walking together but talking into their cell phones and gangs of boys with Nike sneakers and discussing the latest video game or CD as they were on their way to the mall. America was not always a land with a preoccupation with material things, but more and more it seems that we are doomed to desire instant gratification in a never-ending quest to own the newest devices. Modern day America has been transformed from a land that valued hard work into a superficial nation due to an unchecked expansion of consumerism as a means to achieve happiness.
The materialism that our country fosters is actually causing us long-term damage. A news article entitled “You Love Your iPhone. Literally.” was recently published in The New York Times and it had a very shocking message. It made the point that people are more attached to their i-phones then they know and, in fact, are in love with them the same way they love their family. The replacement of human interaction with a machine shows that people are more than content just to be with their devices than to be with people. It has even caused a lack of social skills development, yet, most people do not fear it, but accept it. Society as a whole does not realize that when they drown out the people around them for cold metal and programming they are damaging themselves in the process. A teacher interviewed by NPR reported that students were able to ask for deadline extensions in an email, but could not articulate their needs in person. She went on to say, “And that worries me, in terms of their ability — particularly once they get out in the workplace — to interact with people." This statement shows the concern for the future when children grow up and are forced to communicate face to face with real people. Their reliance on cell phones, text messages, facebook and email, all consumer products, lessens their ability to interact in person. In addition, a recent article run by the American Psychological Association says that the overuse of credit cards amongst other financial tools is to blame for the increase of debt and bankruptcy. They go on to say that just the Visa sign in a store window makes a customer more likely to make a purchase. America is subconsciously falling into these advertising traps and the result is crippling debt and an uncertain future.
The recent growth of consumerism has warped the American way, which was rooted in the Puritan value of hard work, into one of constant gratification through the purchasing of the latest technology or fashion. The general public does not think of this as a problem and continues to go on buying. Tony Hoagland in his poem “America” addresses this subject saying, “When each day you watch rivers of bright merchandise run past you… even while others are drowning underneath you and you see their faces twisting in the surface of the waters and yet it seems to be your own hand which turns the volume higher.” We, as a nation, are digging our own graves by letting corporations tell us how to spend our money by making us believe, through advertising, that we need a certain product. To ensure a successful future, we must bring this issue into the public eye and start a campaign to change America back into the hardworking nation it once was.
word count: 598
The materialism that our country fosters is actually causing us long-term damage. A news article entitled “You Love Your iPhone. Literally.” was recently published in The New York Times and it had a very shocking message. It made the point that people are more attached to their i-phones then they know and, in fact, are in love with them the same way they love their family. The replacement of human interaction with a machine shows that people are more than content just to be with their devices than to be with people. It has even caused a lack of social skills development, yet, most people do not fear it, but accept it. Society as a whole does not realize that when they drown out the people around them for cold metal and programming they are damaging themselves in the process. A teacher interviewed by NPR reported that students were able to ask for deadline extensions in an email, but could not articulate their needs in person. She went on to say, “And that worries me, in terms of their ability — particularly once they get out in the workplace — to interact with people." This statement shows the concern for the future when children grow up and are forced to communicate face to face with real people. Their reliance on cell phones, text messages, facebook and email, all consumer products, lessens their ability to interact in person. In addition, a recent article run by the American Psychological Association says that the overuse of credit cards amongst other financial tools is to blame for the increase of debt and bankruptcy. They go on to say that just the Visa sign in a store window makes a customer more likely to make a purchase. America is subconsciously falling into these advertising traps and the result is crippling debt and an uncertain future.
The recent growth of consumerism has warped the American way, which was rooted in the Puritan value of hard work, into one of constant gratification through the purchasing of the latest technology or fashion. The general public does not think of this as a problem and continues to go on buying. Tony Hoagland in his poem “America” addresses this subject saying, “When each day you watch rivers of bright merchandise run past you… even while others are drowning underneath you and you see their faces twisting in the surface of the waters and yet it seems to be your own hand which turns the volume higher.” We, as a nation, are digging our own graves by letting corporations tell us how to spend our money by making us believe, through advertising, that we need a certain product. To ensure a successful future, we must bring this issue into the public eye and start a campaign to change America back into the hardworking nation it once was.
word count: 598