Consumerism vs America - notes

1. Whenwas consumerism, inthe modernsense,born?Researcherssayitwasat leasta centurybefore
the Industrial Revolutionbroughtcheap,mass-producedgoodstothe world.Hoarding,andthe
popularityof storage units,came a bitlater.
In otherwords, justlike today,the poortendedtofollow the consumeristpatternsfirsttreadbythe
rich.In fact, the rise of consumerismprettymuchcreatedthe needforthe Industrial Revolution.Per
the Globe story,it wasthe “increasedconsumptionof luxuryitems thatledtoa desire formore
income,changingpeople’sworkinghabitsandspurringthe creationof faster,more efficient
productionmodels.”
Cheaperandfasterproductionmeantcheaperpricesforgoods—whichinturnmeantmore people
couldaffordthem, whichinturnmeantmore people saw theirneighborswiththeseitemsand
wantedthemas well.
The 1950's wasa periodmarkedbyexpansive growthandconsumerisminthe Americaneconomy.
Thistrend,amongother national trendsatthe time,waspresentinthe small townof Wayland.To
findevidenceof this,one needlooknofurtherthanthe advertisementspostedthroughoutthe
decade inthe Town Crier,the townnewspaper.
In analyzingthe newspaper,one canfindtwoindicatorsof economicgrowthandincreased
consumerism.These canbe foundbyĘtrackingthe percentage of the middle sectiononthe
newspaperdevotedtoadvertisementsandobservingthe tacticsusedbycorporationstomarket
theirrespective products.
The 1950's wasa decade duringwhichthe phrase "keepingupwiththe Jones"came intopopular
use.Thisphrase was representativeof the growingemphasisonmaterial possessionsinAmericaand
the importance of havingthe same technologyandmaterial wealthinyourhome asyourneighbors,
"the Jones".Forexample,if youwere livinginamiddle classhome insuburbanAmericaandyour
neighborcame home withhisbrand-new televisionset,youwouldlikelyfeel pressuredtobuya
televisionyourself soasnot to seem"behindthe times".A signof thisnew attitude couldbe
observedincompany'sadvertisements,whichoftenshow acommonhousewifeusinghernew
toaster,washingmachine,orwhicheverworldlypossessionthe companywastryingtosell.
By makingthe ads depicta"Mrs. Everywoman", people were giventhe impressionthatevery
respectable home containedone of these commodities,andthusconsumersfeltcompelledtobuy
the newdishwasher,whethertheytrulyneededitornot.
In 1952, the TownCrierdevoted55.6% of itsavailable space toadvertisements,while in1959 that
figure grewto61.6%. Thisgrowthin advertisementsshowsthe newfoundimportance of
advertisementsandconsumerismonalocal level,andisrepresentative of the nationasa whole
duringthisperiod.
Whetherfora newtwo-doorfridge,clothesdryer,air-conditioner,orelectricrazor,demandfor
and accumulationof material possessions,especiallythose of atechnologicallyinnovativenature,
characterizedthe typical Americanfamily.

2. In Americatoday,itseemslike we are alwaysstrivingforsomething.Tobe bigger,betterthanwho
we are. We’re nevercontentwithwhatwe have.Butwhy?Where didthissense of notbeingenough
come from?
As itturns out,the phrase “Keepingupwiththe Joneses”comesfromacartoonstrip of that name
that launchedin1913 and ran for 26 years.
Who istellingusthatwe needto keepupwiththe Kardashians?The media.Until the late 1880s,
magazineswere notwidelyread.Theywere forthe rich,whocouldaffordboththe time and money
to readthem.But towardthe endof the 19th century,twoeventshappenedthatforeverchanged
our world:secondclassmail wascreatedand the rotary printingpresswasinvented.Thisdropped
the price of magazinessothattheywere affordable forthe workingclass.Massmediawasborn.And
thisopenedupa whole newworld.
Priorto the late 1880s, mostof us were sobusytryingto make a livingthatwe didn’tcare what the
Joneseswere doing,nordidwe know,forthat matter.But withthe birthof mass media,suddenlywe
were beingtoldinnouncertaintermsthatnot onlywere the Jonesesfarbetterthanwe were,but
alsothat we shoulddosomethingaboutit.Yousee,we didn’tknow thatwe weren’tgoodenough
until someone toldus.
So here we are,feelinglike we’re notgoodenough.It’sreflectedinthe musicwe listento,the shows
we watch (think“reality”TV),the thingswe saytoourselvesandourlovedones.Andwe feel guilt,
and mostof all,shame.
In thissaying,the surname Jonesalludesto any,generic,neighbor.
To keepupwiththe Jonesesreferstocompetitivenessbetweenpeople.Itmeansnotfallingbehind
your neighborintermsof theirmaterial possessionsand,inordertoachieve this,buyingwhatever
your neighborhasanddoingwhat theydo. Forexample,if yourneighborbuysanew car, thento
‘keepupwiththem,’youtoowill alsoneedanew car. If theypainttheirhouse,thenyoushouldtoo
etc.The listisendlessandreferstoeverypossession,activity(like goingonholidays) etc.Itcanbe an
unhealthyobsession.
Of course,the use of the surname Jonesnormallyreferstoneighborsbutitcan alsomeanany
acquaintance,colleague,friendetc.
Keepingupwiththe Jonesesissaidtohave originatedinapopularcartoon striprun inan American
newspaperatthe start of the 20th centurybycartoonistArthurMomand. Interestinglywhilethe
expressionwasthe title of the cartoon,the Joneseswere neveractuallyfeaturedinit.Insteadthe
cartoon focusedonthe McGinisfamilywholivednextdoortothe Jonesesandwholookedtothem
constantlyasa source of reference asto whattheyshouldhave andthe social statustheyshouldbe
strivingtoattain.

3. Do youthinkthat you,in anyaspectof yourlive,couldbe saidto keepupwiththe Joneses?
Now,we use thisphrase to referprimarilytopeople whofocusonappearances –especiallywhenit
comesto appearingwell-off.
It’shard to escape the influenceof those arounduswholive seeminglywealthy,free-and-easy
lifestyles.Andit’sreally,reallyhardtoescape the noise of all the advertiserswhodesperatelywant
us to keepupwiththose people whoare forkingovermoneyformore stuff.
Whenwe try to keepupwiththe Joneses,we’re notusuallytryingtomatchour lifestylesto the 1
percentof Americanswhocan affordprivate jetsandlavishdiamonds.We’re justcomparing
ourselvestoournearestneighbors –probablythe oneswholookjustalittle bitwealthierthanwe
do.
Many Americanslive beyondtheirmeans.A recentBankrate surveyfoundthataboutone-thirdof
people ages30 to 49 had more creditcard debtthan savings.Eventhoughthe financial securityindex
has steadilyrisenoverthe pastfewmonths,Americansare still inalotof debt.Andwe can guess
that at leastpart of that debtcomesfrom livingbeyondourmeans.
From blue jeansinRussiatosatellite dishesinIraq,people aroundthe worldare covetingtheir
neighbors'lifestyles.
Accordingto a Federal Reserve Boardstudy,43% of Americanfamiliesspendmore thantheyearn.
Why we do it
The desire toshowoff our success
The needto have whatotherpeople have
Prolificadvertisingandproductplacements
Easy credit
A societythatfavorsinstantgratificationoverhardwork
A surveyconductedbyNewspoll MarketResearchindicatedthatnearlytwo-thirdsof Australianssay
theycannot affordtobuy everythingtheyneed.Yet,the WorldBankcitesAustraliaashavingthe
twentiethhighestpercapitaincome inthe worldaccordingtothe publication"WorldBank
DevelopmentIndicators2006"

4. In Americatoday,itseemslike we are alwaysstrivingforsomething.Tobe bigger,betterthanwho
we are. We’re nevercontentwithwhatwe have.
the phrase “Keepingupwiththe Joneses”comesfromacartoonstrip of that name that launchedin
1913 and ran for 26 years.
.
Whichreallygetsto the heartof the matter.Who istellingusthatwe needto keepupwiththe
Kardashians?The media.Until the late 1880s, magazineswere notwidelyread.Theywereforthe
rich,who couldaffordboththe time and moneytoreadthem.But towardthe endof the 19th
century,twoeventshappenedthatforeverchangedourworld:secondclassmail wascreatedand
the rotary printingpresswasinvented.Thisdroppedthe price of magazinessothatthey were
affordable forthe workingclass.Massmediawasborn.Andthis openedupawhole new world.
Priorto the late 1880s, mostof us were sobusytryingto make a livingthatwe didn’tcare what the
Joneseswere doing,nordidwe know,forthat matter.But withthe birthof mass media,suddenlywe
were beingtoldinnouncertaintermsthatnot onlywere the Jonesesfarbetterthanwe were,but
alsothat we shoulddosomethingaboutit.
I thinkBrene Brownputsit bestwhenshe says,“I see the cultural messagingeverywhere thatsays
that an ordinarylife isameaninglesslife.”
callsthisthe “neverenough”problemandattributesit,formostof us,to a singularearlychildhood
eventthatperpetuatedourneedtobe a people-pleaser— atleast,until someone tellsuswe can
stop.
Stopbuyingintothe message thatyou’re notgood enough.Stopbuyingthingsto“improve”whoyou
are.Because ultimately,noproductisgoingto make youa “better”versionof you.Onlyyoucan do
that
A studyby researchers atthe Universityof WarwickandCardiff Universityhasfoundthatmoneyonly
makespeople happierif itimprovestheirsocial rank.The researchersfoundthatsimplybeinghighly
paidwasn't enough -- tobe happy,people mustperceivethemselvesasbeing more highlypaidthan
theirfriendsandworkcolleagues. Earningamillionpoundsayearappearsto be notenoughto make
youhappy if youknowyour friendsall earn2 millionayear."
Our neighbors,however,are nolongerouronlysalientstandardof comparison.Realitytelevision
shows,lifestylemagazines,andgossipwebsitesinundate uswithstoriesaboutwhichcelebrity
boughtwhatand howmuch he or she paidforit.
Thinkaboutit: whenyoumeetsomeone new,youmaynotbe able tosay withcertainty how tall the
personis,butyou effortlesslyregisterwhetherhe orshe istallerthanyou are.*In many cases,social
comparisonisuseful.Inthe absence of objective standardsof success,social comparisonwithothers
helpsusto evaluate andimprove ourselves.Butsometimes,social comparisonrevealsthatwe’re

5. inferioronsome dimension(e.g.,wealth,intelligence,attractiveness),whichmaymake usfeel
envious.
“Evencapuchinmonkeysrejectrewardsif theysee othermonkeysreceive relativelygreater
rewards.”
Too manypeople spendmoneytheyhaven'tearnedtobuythingstheydon'twantto impresspeople
theydon't like –will rogers
isan idiominmany partsof the English-speakingworldreferringtothe comparisontoone'sneighbor
as a benchmark for social classor the accumulationof material goods.
The desire toincrease one'spositioninthe social hierarchyisresponsibleformuchof the social
mobilityinAmerica.The upwardmobilityoverthe pastfew decadesinAmericaisdue inpartto the
large numberof womenjoiningthe laborforce.U.S.womenhave slowlyandsteadilyincreasedtheir
participationinthe laborforce from46% of all women(age 16+) in 1974 to almost60% in 2004
Inabilityto"Keepupwiththe Joneses"mightresultindissatisfaction,evenforpeople whose statusis
high
So baby,let'ssell yourdiamondring
Buy some bootsandfadedjeansandgo away
Thiscoat and tie is chokingme
In yourhighsocietyyoucry all day
We've beensobusykeepin'upwiththe Jones
Four car garage and we're still buildingon
Maybe it'stime we got back to the basicsof love
WaylonJennings - LuckenbachTexas
The phrase was popularizedwhenacomicstripof the same name was createdby cartoonistArthur
R. "Pop"Momand
If your friendsovereat,you're more likelytoovereat.If yourfriendsare active andsporty,you're
more likelytobe active.Andif yourfriendslike tospendmoney,you're more likelytospendtoo
Theyencouragedeveryonetopursue the objectsof desire.Envywasnolonger asin,but a valuable
economicstimulant.

6. How doyou keepupwiththe Jonesesinthe modernage – buya flashycar?
ryan Murphy,author of a paperfromthe Adam SmithInstitute titledThe New Aristocrats.He claims
that attemptingtoimpressyourneighbourswithostentatiousdisplaysof wealthisnow outof
fashionInstead,he says,provingyoursocial prowessandwinningfriendsisaboutshowingoff your
greencredentials(read:buysecondhandclothes,ethical coffee andinstallsolarpanels).
Social
Theirgenerationwasone of material needs.Oursseemstobe strayingawayfromthe material world
but hasmovedon to somethingthatseemsevenmore disturbing.We gainourself worthonsocial
mediaandwhocan postthe most interestingphotographandgetthe mostamountof likesand
comments.We’re all still keepingupwiththe Joneses,we’rejustdoingitdifferent. Everytime you
openyourcomputer,it’sinyour face.Everyday youcan see,justhow much bettereveryoneelse’s
life isthanyours. We have an onslaughtof informationstreamingthroughourliveseachday.
The Kardashianstake selfies(onlyatthe rightangle withthe rightlighting) toposttheirperfectlyrich
livesonthe Internetforeveryonetosee andTaylorSwiftshowsoff her‘bestfriends’(really,they’re
justfellowcelebritiesthatshe’smetonce ortwice inpassingbuttheylookgood ina photo) havinga
poolside partyinparadise.Howisthathappiness?Idon’tthinkitis.If theyare that richand already
famous,whydotheyfeel the needtokeepdocumentingeverysinglemomentof theirlife for
complete strangerstosee?
Evenrich people getinovertheirheadswhiletryingtokeepupwiththe Joneses.That’swhy60
percentof NBA playersand78 percentof NFLplayersfile for bankruptcywithinfive yearsof
retirement,accordingtoanarticle onMint.com, and stars like M.C.Hammerand Mike Tyson endup
broke afterearningmore moneythanmostof us will eversee.
idiom
To keepupwiththe Jonesesreferstocompetitiveness betweenpeople.Itmeansnotfallingbehind
your neighborintermsof theirmaterial possessionsand,inordertoachieve this,buyingwhatever
your neighborhasanddoingwhattheydo. Forexample,if yourneighborbuysanew car, thento
‘keepupwiththem,’youtoowill alsoneedanew car. If theypainttheirhouse,thenyoushouldtoo
etc.The listisendlessandreferstoeverypossession,activity(like goingonholidays) etc.
Of course,the use of the surname Jonesnormallyreferstoneighborsbutitcan alsomeanany
acquaintance,colleague,friendetc.
Where doesthe expressioncome from?
Discus
Do youthinkthat you,in anyaspectof yourlive,couldbe saidto keepupwiththe Joneses?

7. Why You'll NeverBe Able toKeepUpWith the Joneses
WHEN WILL PEOPLELEARN THE JONESESARE POOR?
mostyoungcouplesexpecttoattaintheirparents’standardof livingwithinaboutfive years.
Doesowninga luxurycar or luxuryhome reallyimprove yourlifemarkedlyoverowningalessercar
or home?
A newstudybyeconomistandprofessorBarryScholnickof the Universityof Alberta’sbusiness
school inEdmontonputssome hard numbersonthe social impactsof income inequalitybybreaking
downwhathappensto the neighbourhoodwhensomeonewinsitbiginthe lottery.“So,if your
neighbourwinsalarge amount,youare more likelytogobankruptthanif your neighbourwinsa
smalleramount,”saysDr. Scholnick.The studyalsofoundevidencethatpeople’svisible assets –the
moneytheyspendonitemseveryone cansee,suchasa house,car or pleasure boat – are also linked
to a neighbour’swinnings,accordingtothe study.
The Americantendencytowardoutwarddisplaysof wealthandcomparative measurementisnot
endemictoall developedcountries.
Do the JonesesEven Have WhatYou Want?
It’sbetter,though,if youdon’tworryabout keepingupwiththe Joneses.You,andyourwallet,will
bothmuch happierif youstopworryingaboutwhat yourneighborshave.
Evenif you thinkthatyou are buyingsomethingbecause itwill enhanceyourqualityof life,youstill
needtomake sure youcan affordit.Just because the neighborjustboughtanew lawnmower
doesn’tmeanthatyouneedto buyone today.
it’shard to avoidall of today’swealthsignalsthatindicate whatwe shouldstrivefor,how we should
be livingorwhat we shouldbe buying.
In the past,we may have onlybeenaware of what ourneighborshad,buttoday,we’re constantly
bombardedwithwealthsignalsontelevision,the webandsocial media.Subconsciously,we wantto
displaythose signalsourselves.
People have atendencytodoall theycan to preserve andincrease theirsocial statuswithintheir
ownrespective social circles.Theywantbe admiredandrecognizedbyothersandclimbthe social
ladderor at the veryleast,retaintheirownlevel of statuswithinthe group.

8. What happensif theydon’t?
Feelingsof shame,embarrassment,andsocial exclusionstarttodevelop.
mostyoungcouplesexpecttoattaintheirparents’standardof livingwithinaboutfive years.
For example,if youwere livinginamiddle classhome insuburbanAmericaandyourneighborcame
home withhisbrand-newtelevisionset,youwouldlikelyfeel pressuredtobuya televisionyourself
so as not to seem"behindthe times".A signof thisnew attitude couldbe observedincompany's
advertisements,whichoftenshow acommonhousewifeusinghernew toaster,washingmachine,or
whicheverworldlypossession the companywastryingtosell. By makingthe ads depicta "Mrs.
Everywoman",people weregiventhe impressionthateveryrespectable home containedone of
these commodities,andthusconsumersfeltcompelledtobuythe new dishwasher,whetherthey
trulyneededitornot.
Why The JonesesAre StrongerThanEver
The problemisnot that there are manymore Jonesestodayor thattheyare wealthierthaninthe
past.The real problemishowtheyhave foundmore waysto infiltrateourlives.