Lesson 19 — Activity 1: What Is Consumerism?
Completion requirements
Lesson 19
— Activity 1: What Is
Consumerism?
Warm Up
Before anything can be consumed or used, it must be purchased. Hence, consumers are buyers of goods and services — of food, clothing, shelter, electricity, gas, water, and more. In this lesson, you will learn about being a
consumer
and the definition of
consumerism.
@pexels
People are consumers by
nature. This means that every human around the world uses goods that are
around them. A consumer is a person who buys products or services for
their own personal use.
People are consumers by
nature. This means that every human around the world uses goods that are
around them. A consumer is a person who buys products or services for
their own personal use.
Consumerism, in general, is the consumption, or using up, of goods. No matter where we live on this planet, we rely on the environment to supply what we need, whether it's something from our own vegetable garden or a grocery store in a large city.
That doesn't necessarily mean that we can get everything we want around us. These days, nearly everything we eat, wear, or use is a product of trade. Most of us can't and would never even dream of growing our own cotton, weaving our own cloths, and then sewing them or growing our own crops for food.
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@pexels
And we don't build our own iPods, toasters, or computers. Instead, we buy the goods we need at the store, knowing that some of them are produced in other countries.
In the next activity, you will learn more about the difference between a want and a need as well as the advantages and disadvantages of consumerism.
Self-check!
Try This!
Consumerism is one of the strongest forces affecting our lives in the modern world. One of the ways that we, as consumers, take part in consumerism is through advertising. You will learn more about how mass media and advertising affect consumerism in a later lesson. For now, let's see how many brand slogans you know. This will get you thinking just how influential consumerism and brand awareness can be.
Click here
to access the quiz to see if you can remember some popular brand slogans.
Digging Deeper!
Click on the Play button below to watch a video on the story of consumerism. Although this video talks about consumerism in the United States, the story of consumerism is the same in Canada.