Role of Media in Consumer Society - Essay Example

3 April Media The media has fast taken a very important role in consumer society in today’s day and age. Consumerism has become a way of life for most people as people do not even notice the kind of indirect advertising they are doing for most brands and companies. Driving a car with prestige; wearing certain clothes bought from high end boutiques – they all have their logos and people proudly strut them to the rest of the world watching. Without realizing thus, people indulge in consumerism and help these companies further their profit making abilities at no extra cost whatsoever. A very interesting article ha been put forth by renowned writer Naomi Rockler Gladen titled ‘Me against the Media’, where Gladen writes about the struggles faced by herself to teach the very subject –advertising. She writes that the age group between 18-34 has become a target market for most products and services and this group may be known as the “The Age of Acquisition.” This is because it is people between this very age group that fall prey to all kinds of tricks played by the corporations and companies worldwide in order to carry on their advertising and promotion techniques. She provides the example of the movie “Father of the Bride” where she helps her students understand how the father was against a big and extravagant wedding for his daughter but how that decision according to the other family members was just outright unacceptable. This is because in today’s day and age of consumerism no person from the younger generations wants to compromise on any kind of usage when it comes to products and services that have carved a niche for them in the market. Despite presenting the clip, Naomi’s students failed to understand how consumerism has taken over globally without students and young people understanding that they are simply being used by big companies in the form of walking talking forms of print media for the sole benefit of the companies. Most of the dream and ambitions that the younger generations have today are closely linked with consumerism. They dream of acquiring products and services that have high brand values and a niche market. So then is it the fault of these big companies and multinationals if these people are putting themselves into the trap? (Gladen, Naomi Rockler) The main problem, Naomi writes, is that the happiest moments that these younger generations possess in their lives are not linked with familial or friendly relations and ties – they are linked with consumerism. Younger people fail to remember a time when they were not using a particular product or service or time when they were not influenced by their peers to acquire and obtain satisfaction from a particular product. Every aspect of their lives has been filled with advertisements as they proudly portray themselves as robots blindly following whatever logo is being pasted on them by companies all around the world. However, the question still remains that consumerism might be something the current generations are not able to help, but what about political consumerism? Most young people fail to be interested in any kind of political discussion that takes place; most of them do not even find it necessary or important to cast a vote, and thus, since they are not even engaged in any aspect of politics in their lives, they are not able to comprehend the kind of impact political consumerism has been having on their lives. Very simply put, political consumerism may be defined as “the choice of producers and products with the aim of changing ethically or politically objectionable institutional or market practices. Their choices are informed by attitudes and values regarding issues of justice, fairness, noneconomic issues that concern personal and family well-being, and ethical or political assessment of favorable and unfavorable business and government practice.” It is very disheartening to know that around the world there exist different kinds of people; while one young boy is happily running around in his Nike shoes or throwing them away because he is bored and wants a new pair, another young boy somewhere in a sweatshop in Vietnam is working hard all day and night to create that pair of shoes at a lesser salary than even the minimum working wage. Thus, the role of the media in such a situation should be to try and make people aware of these political cohorts; they must find different ways of letting young people all around know how they are becoming the preys of political consumerism without even coming to know about it. One of the ways by which this can be done according to Gladen, is that the media can play a very active role in helping young people understand the areas where they might have been cheated and are being lured into; for example by either credit card companies or by sales and discounts everywhere. On the personal level, most people will be able to answer the ways in which they have felt cheated and attacked by political consumerism. Yet another way to make young people understand is by narrating to them personal experiences by older people and how they felt about consumerism taking over the world in their days when the phenomenon was just a foreign concept. If anything, they might feel instigated and want to help out other people and thus take a stand in society against such political consumerism. According to another press article written by Amy Goldwasser, titled “What’s The Matter with Kids Today”, she writes, “Kids today — we’re telling you! — don’t read, don’t write, don’t care about anything farther in front of them than their iPods. The Internet, according to 88-year-old Lessing (whose specialty is sturdy typewriters, or perhaps pens), has “seduced a whole generation into its inanities.” (Goldwasser, Amy) She too feels that the younger generation has fallen into the trap of a very consumerist way of life and driven society where the only thing that matters is which brand of clothes they are wearing or whether or not their iPod playlists are updated. However despite this argument, I would like to state that that may be the cause with some of the generation belonging to the ‘Y’ group, but there are a lot more people that are taking matters into their own hands. Young people around the world have been forming societies and groups against such consumerism and also spreading awareness amongst others to follow suit. It is the younger generation that has the ability to try and fix the issues they have fallen prey to because they are aware that with such power comes responsibility as well. It was not only the war ridden areas of the world in the past where people were capable of coming together and forming unions for the betterment of society; young people across the world even today are slowly beginning to realize the implications that this form of political consumerism is having on their lives, and they have been taking steps to combat the issue. A number of different organizations have been formed all over the world to help others understand the pointlessness of being addicted to consumerism especially in political aspects. (Micheletti, Michele) The media, also consisting of a vast number of younger people these days, has come forward and has tried to make people aware and make things better. Not only this, but active participation in the same is invited by young people and they find such methods of preaching appealing and thus are now working towards freeing themselves from the clutches of such a political consumer driven society. Works Cited Micheletti, Michele. "Political Consumerism." Briding Differences. Web. 4 Apr. 2011. . Goldwasser, Amy. ""Whats the Matter With Kids Today"" Print. Gladen, Naomi Rockler. "Me Against The Media." Print. Read More