A Fools Paradise!

Consumerism is an interesting term; dictionary meaning says “the belief that it is good for society or an individual person to buy and use a large quantity of goods and services” it is interpreted as “its good to spend money” in corporate world. And they provide more than enough opportunities for it. Open any website, before you get what you want half a dozen others sites open fast, each one is offering you something at surprisingly low price. They will also guide you through the procedure. Just you have to click where they point. It’s done…...life made easy.

Every morning I open newspaper hoping for some news, I see flashing advertisements. There are equal advertisements in a newspaper as news (if not more). I often think why they publish newspaper for news or for products! To spend half an hour with television is torturous enough, within a span of 5 min they will sell us each and everything that we don’t need at all or at least can do very well without them. There are minimum 5-7 calls on mobile either it is an insurance agent, car salesman, ringtone /dial tone offer or someone else but one things for sure whoever else is on the other side, we don’t want him and we are irritated. Mobile companies send dozens of SMS offering a Santro, Maruti, latest cell phone. Their free or economic offers end with “conditions apply /charges apply” a decent hint that we are being fooled. So nice of them!

Everyone is trying to sell us something, on internet, in newspapers, on television, mobile, everywhere! That doesn’t matters whether we really need it or not, they don’t bother to ask, we must buy, buy it because it’s for sale. That’s what advertisements do exactly, selling us things which we rarely need. A man must buy Raymond, Park Avenue, Bajaj Discover, if he wants girls falling for him, him or his possessions I am not sure. A girl must use Fair and Lovely for girls should be fair if they don’t want to feel inferior, if they want to marry a good, nice man with loads of money. What a creative mind! One must have a credit card so that one can spend foolishly. Credit cards are not illogical but the way of telling us is absurd.

Its not only products that are being sold, emotions too are marketed. Friendship day, Valentines Day, Parents Day, Fathers Day, Mothers Day (mother, father and parents are different products) as if we love less if we don’t spend money. Love and respect have a price tag. Still there’s no brothers or sisters day, I am sure it will, some day. Patriotism is new bandwagon, few days’ back a fierce campaign was going on: to vote for Taj, our national pride. Almost all mobile service providers sent SMSes, however the SMS for Taj coasted Rs3/- while in normal conditions its 50p or 1Re, whatever, but it’s not 3Re. The business mantra seems to be “fool them, fool them any way”. It’s not about relations, patriotism or services its all about money. Release a product, create the demand, tell people that they need it and then sell. And surprisingly we do! With fast lifestyle and ready plastic money, less time is devoted to think, analyze and decide.

It may appear strange but spending money has marijuana like effect, it helps us forget frustrations, heart breaks, boosts ego and we thought money cannot buy happiness!

This world is a shopper’s delight! Spend money, shop, shop till you drop and be happy!