Workbook 16 Activity 3
Completion requirements
Unit 4: Section 2: Activity 3: Consumerism and Quality of Life
Activity 3: The Powers and Limitations of Consumerism
Get Focused
In this section, you have been exploring the economic theory of consumerism. Your consumer behaviour and purchasing of goods and services is very important for the economy.
Consumerism influences you in all areas of your life. Your quality of life and your identity are influenced by your consumer choices.
Review the list of products you identified in Get Focused in Activity 2, and answer the following questions in your notes.
- What products do you and your family regularly consume?
- What influenced you and your family to purchase these items? Think about such things as advertising, cost, availability, or impact on the environment.
- How do these products influence your quality of life and your identity?
Save your completed notes to your Activities folder.
©Thinkstock
Images ©Thinkstock
Watch and Listen
View the video, The Story of Stuff (Part 1 and Part 2) to see one perspective on the influence of consumerism. Please note: Each part of the video is approximately 10 minutes.
Begin examining how environmental and social issues relate to consumerism.
As you watch the videos, answer the questions on the Story of Stuff handout that you can access by clicking on one of the links below.
Story of Stuff (Word)
Story of Stuff (pdf)
Story of Stuff (Google Doc)
Save your completed handout to your Activities folder.
In this activity, you will investigate the following questions:
- How might my consumer views differ from those in other regions of North America?
- How can consumerism give power to collectives?