The price of consumerism (3-4 min)

To begin this speech we first have to know what even is consumerism.

Each and everyone one of you in this room is a consumer. All of us con-
sume to meet our basic needs such as food and shelter. Consumerism is
much different, consumerism is about consuming things that make us
feel good. It's the idea that increasing the consumption of goods and ser-
vices purchased in the market is always a desirable goal, and that a per-
son's wellbeing depends on obtaining material possessions. Depending
on which perspective in the market you take, consumerism can be both
helpful and harmful to society. Looking from an economic perspective
consumerism is good its the key driver of the economy. Research shows
that consumerism is the main fuel of economic growth. However, there
are also many negative effects of consumerism such as our mental state
side effects, an unsustainable consumer society, and pollution.

We are currently overusing the earth's natural resources whit more than
70%. Plenty of research shows that materialism is not just a personal
problem. It is also an environmental problem, as you may have guessed –
we are overconsuming at the cost of our happiness and our planet. We, as
a society, have developed a high level of individual consumeristic com-
petitiveness and a continuous comparison, both of which are unhealthy.
This may not be news to you. It certainly isn’t news to the seller’s mar-
kets; it has been a long-standing technique of markets to act on this vul-

nerability of ours and therefore encourage us to constantly compare our-

selves to an ‘ideal norm’ and trap us into consumerism.
Not only does this come at the cost of our long-term happiness, but we
also consume our planet in the pursuit of happiness.

One of the biggest costs of consumerism is pollution. Consumerism

leads to the draining of natural resources. An increase in demand natural-
ly increases production, in turn, leading to increased land use, cutting
down of forests, and emission of pollutants. In short, the more we con-
sume, the more the earth gets exploited. Consumers are responsible
for 60-70% of all direct and indirect emissions. We can lead the change
we so desperately want.

So what can we do? The good news is that we don’t need to go far to
change this. Not far at all. The answer is within us all. The next time you
are staring at that bag you already have twenty off or the social media
post you’re about to make to show off a new purchase or are you staring
at the iPhone model you are contemplating getting, ask yourself this:
• Why do I need this? Is this my ego or my inner self?
• I love this product, but what true use will this product give me?*
It’s the best type of self-love you can practice. Life starts and ends within
your own inner world. Nurture that and you will save all the worlds
around you.