Consumerism can change your view of the world

Although every individual differs significantly in many aspect of their life, the one thing that every person living in a modern society can agree upon is the fact that we are all consumers in some way.

Bombarded by Black Friday deals, Cyber Monday or even Christmas shopping, there is always an excuse for us to buy into consumer advertising. The growth in the commodification of goods and services in society has not only created inauthenticity, but has left individuals to navigate a life that isn’t truly their own.

I am a victim of this very dilemma and have been blinded by the distractions of consumerism.

Recently, I’ve acquired a sense of cognitive dissonance in my life, leaving me in an utter state of panic and anxiety. Since then, I’ve devoted countless hours trying to understand myself and have realized that nothing is as it seems.

I’ve realized that I have become the one thing I feared the most in my life. I have become absolutely and irrevocably unauthentic. Therefore, to help you understand the importance of this matter from my perspective, I will start by doing something unconventional, and telling you my story.

In 1997, during the time I was born, Kabul, Afghanistan, was in a state of terror as we were in a civil war with the Taliban. My parents, knowing that if they wanted their children to survive, would have to leave behind everything they’ve ever know and flee.

Fast forward to three years later, myself, my five siblings and my parents were on refugee status living in a threebedroom apartment in one of the most broken-down parts of Toronto. There are fragments of my memory (ones that I truthfully try to suppress) where my parents wouldn’t eat so I would have enough.

Memories where eight people living in a three-bedroom apartment appeared to be the norm to me. Where the exchange of goods for currency only occurred for survival purposes in terms of food, warm clothing and toiletries. For a long time, I didn’t not understand what a “brand name” was. I didn’t even understand the concept.

As I sit here writing, I look back to that time in my life and can’t quite figure out what happened to that girl. I have become someone who does not wear jewelry unless it comes out of a little blue box. Someone who is willing to pay $565 for a belt because it allows me to “look the part” or whose idea of a good first date correlates with how high the dinner bill is.

I often catch myself staring in the mirror before I leave my house and realize I don’t recognize the person staring back at me. Who is she? Where did she come from? And why does she value the things she does?

I had become the ultimate consumer. Someone who came from nothing, but was influenced by the dominating idea of consumption all around me. Giving into something that was appearing to grant me happiness, but ultimately leaving me anxious and alone.

In order to truly understand who it is that we are, we need to take a step back from “reality.” We need to stop giving so much superficial value to abstract objects, and stop teaching younger generations to do so.

Granted, that this solution is beyond harder than it seems. Using myself as an example, I came from a family who had nothing, who did not understand brand names and whom were not gluttonous with their purchases, yet I still experienced the effects of mass consumption.

It was not something I was taught growing up, it was an ideology that I had adapted from society. However, it is also important to note that we (the consumers) ultimately dictate the success of a product. We are the ones who give power to a product when we give it meaning.

If we can become more aware of who we truly are, aware that superficial items don’t define us or bring real joy, maybe we’ll have a chance at true genuine happiness and thus, a meaningful life experience.