Materialism Governs Society Essay

Ruskoff states that the gruen transfer is “mental paralysis” from all the choices and advertisements thrown at a consumer. In the article Which One of These Sneaker Are Me; Ruskoff gives a great example of a teenage kid at the mall staring blankly at a shoe rack trying to figure what sneaker is “me”. We probably all have experienced this confusion at one point or another. With every negative there is as positive. We have mind boggling amounts of clothing brands to help us express the way we want to be perceived in society. Yet, if we place too much emphasis on brand names it makes us materialistic . A yuppie is no different from a hippie that buys hybrid cars and goes green . The same can also be said about a person that buys a Harley motorcycle; with their arms full of tattoos riding to “live”. We all want to be seen in a certain light. For many of us, material things makes us happy. It entertains us with plasma TV’s, video games, cell phones, purses, motorcycles etc. Materialism has much to offer. It can motivate people to work hard and set goals. Some people are purely driven to pursue higher education just for wealth. These high paying jobs help the community as well as the economy. “Out of concern for the economy after the terrorist attack, the president said to go about our business, and not stop shopping.”(Frazier 39-43) The products we shop for as consumers has changed as well. The biggest change to materialism in the 21st century is