The New "Necessities" of Modern Life
The American way of life is built around consumerism and shopping-- it is fueled by a marketing machine that creates "needs" (See my post Are You Un-American?). They, the "Machine", have done quite the job-- here are some "necessities" of modern life (this is far from a complete list-- it could go on and on):
- Hair dryers as opposed to an old fashioned bath towel
- Answering machines (now voicemail) as opposed to calling back
- Texting as opposed to an old fashioned phone call
- Nine year olds with cell phones as opposed to a dime, I mean quarter, I mean fifty cents
- Cell phones as opposed to a home phone (we recently dumped the home phone for the cell phone and when I was single, I used the cell phone only-- they aren't getting me with a monthly bill twice!)
- Bottled water as opposed to good old tap water (filter it if you must-- see my post Bottled Water and Extreme Wastefulness)
- $6.00 Gourmet coffee as opposed to a home brewed cup
- $200 sneakers as opposed to Keds or Converse All Stars
- $200 jeans as opposed to good old fashioned Levi's
- $500 kid birthday parties as opposed to the $50 kind (See my post What Happened to Kid's Birthday Parties? )
- Designer doggie clothes as opposed to a leash and a chew toy
- $200 iPods as opposed to a $20 MP3 player or an old fashioned radio
- Video game centers as opposed to old fashioned board games or outdoor activities
As I mentioned, this list could go on and on . . .
Many of the items on this list were inspired by my knowledge of the goings on over at Spendthrift Manor . . .
Feel free to add to the list with your comments.
Posted by DDFD at 9/20/2008 9:03 AM 
Categories: Simple Living,Personal Philosophy,Frugality,Consumerism
Tags: Frugality Consumerism Frugal Simple Living Personal Philosophy
Categories: Simple Living,Personal Philosophy,Frugality,Consumerism
Tags: Frugality Consumerism Frugal Simple Living Personal Philosophy
Without TV, newspapers, magazines and radio, one would hardly know that many of these "necessities" exist. Of course, we also see what others have, and often we "join the club." Others want company, so they encourage us to join the club as well.
We only have ourselves to blame because we see less value in having what we need, and more gratification in getting what we want (and being part of the club). TV advertising is perhaps the greatest contributor to our poor decision making when it comes to spending.
I have a detailed discussion of this at: http://www.frugal-living-freedom.com/TV-addiction.html
We are the cause. I don't blame TV or the commercial advertisers that pay for TV programs. We are to blame because we allow ourselves to get sucked into American popular culture and consumerism.
TV is a lot like debt - it's easier to stay out than get out. Fortunately, it has an "off" switch, however, debt does not.
Clair
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In defense of the answering machine: The combination of caller ID and the answering machine has made life much simpler for my family – and especially for me. My wife works as a substitute teacher’s aide, and gets calls from people who want her to fill in for them. When I recognize that the call is coming from a school, I just don’t answer, and the caller gets to leave the message in their own words. I don’t have to understand, or explain, or fail to capture a nuance; I’m out of the loop. Likewise with my teen daughters. When I recognize that one of their friends is calling, I let the machine take it. We probably paid thirty or forty bucks for this thing nine years ago, and I say it has paid for itself.
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Point taken. This site is also about quality of life . . . your purchase was clearly a wise one from that perspective.
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I once tried to find a pay phones in an emergency and could not therefore cell phones are a necessity.
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Sort of a Catch-22 here, payphones have disappeared as a result of the proliferation of cell phones . . .
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