Thoughts of over-consumption of things

[PoliteTurtle]

I was sat watching Ben Fogles doc on a tribe in Congo… it just got me thinking how wrong we have it in our society with over consuming food, things, clothes, everything.
The tribe obviously don’t have Valentines, Christmas, ect where were pushed into buying plastic crap and meaningless junk…
Anybody else feel the same? Or is this just me…

YABU ; No buying things is great

YANBU ; I agree we buy too much

Obvs I’m very grateful for medical access and stuff, but it makes you wonder…

It's Capitalism and it's utterly destructive but on the rise no matter what image is portrayed. One thing you can do is don't follow 'influencers' or paid advertisers which is what they actually are. We are digitally bombiarded with pressure to consume more and more. Getting off SM is liberating but takes getting used to as people talk about it so much!

YANBU at all, but what is this documentary please?

Into The Congo With Ben Fogle I think it was called! Very interesting

Yeah I’ve heard this, I’ve tried detoxing off SM a few times, I find it quite addictive 😭

There is a huge range of consumer types between a tribe in the Congo, and people who over consume.
Most people fall somewhere in the middle, and I don't think there is anything wring with that.

I kind of don’t agree with the “most people fall in the middle” thing… pretty much most people who have the means to will spend on all types of things and not look after what they have
e.g, getting another phone upgrade when your phone works perfectly fine, tons of people do that and I would argue that’s over consumption bc so much stuff goes into making a phone.. you know what I mean?

I agree OP, I often think about this. So much waste everywhere - the Valentines day tat is gone from the shops, and straight away we have St. Patrick's day and Easter tat taking it's place. Who needs all this shit?

Actually, it's quite hard to untangle yourself from it. Even in my own circle of friends and family, asking people not to buy me presents for Christmas or birthdays is met with a weird look. So I get stuff I don't really want or need anyway, it's like people can't help themselves.

I guess capitalism fuels our economy, which sustains job creation. So it's never going to go away. Also, I recently I started thinking about all those data centres needed to store endless youtube cat videos, or emails or MN posts from 10 years ago. So much random unimportant information being stored indefinitely, for what? It takes so much space and energy to store it.

I really admire people who live in a more simple sustainable way, like living off grid or a very minimalist life - I dream of doing something like that myself someday. However they are often looked upon as weirdos, or hippies. And the government doesn't make it easy to live outwith a lot of our systems.

I was just saying to my husband, I have been trying to ask family (in particular extended family) to not buy my kids so much junk… my kids end up getting doubles of toys despite wish lists and things and it’s just depressing… they don’t even care that much about what they own and CERTAINLY don’t look after it because, of course it will be replace asap… sigh

I have tried to live more sustainably, but it’s like society fights against you!

YANBU I think the amount of stuff an average 21st Century human being consumes is quite hideous. I fantasise about going back to basics all the time, from having a small holding to living on a remote island. In reality I have one dog and chop and change being vegetarian (am a very low consumption meat eater) and haven't grown a single thing to eat this year. Hardly ever clothes shop though and do buy mostly second hand.

I thoroughly agree
It’s strange though isn’t it, on one hand, we’re all buying so much, but we’re in a recession also? It’s strange, I don’t understand it

YNBU! I think social media and influencers are very much to blame for overconsumption. There’s a constant message that we “need” this product etc.

I’ve been limiting my spending on non-essentials and I’ll only buy what I need. For example, I haven’t bought any clothes since September 23 and I haven’t bought any make-up since December 23. Why? Honestly, I haven’t needed any as I have duplicates to use up first.

I re-use my seasonal decor every year, including our artificial tree. I’ve also used the same Christmas jumper every year for the past three years (I only have one as I work in education). I appreciate this is more difficult to do with DC, though.

I de-cluttered my house last month, and listed a lot of items we no longer want/need on FB Marketplace. It made me feel a lot better, and I’m even more conscious about what I bring into the house. By the way, I found FIFTEEN allen keys and three tape measures! I couldn’t believe it!