Generally, people do not love unconditionally. The way humans take in information is by analyzing and placing it into categories. Each intact human constantly make judgments about you and everything around them. Objects do not judge us. Most of us know what it’s like to be backstabbed or betrayed, and it’s one of the worst feelings I have personally experienced. Products do not possess the ability to betray us, they’ll be there as long as you keep them there. Ad producers have realized this and are now marketing products as stability in your unstable life.
In the article Jesus is a Brand of Jeans, Jean Kilbourne informs us, “Ads have long promised us a better relationship via a product: buy this and you will be loved. But more recently they have gone beyond that proposition to promise us a relationship with the product itself: buy this and it will love you. After all, it is easier to love a product than a person. Relationships with human beings are messy, unpredictable, and sometimes dangerous. ‘When was the last time you felt this comfortable in a relationship?’ asks an ad for shoes. Our shoes never ask us to wash the dishes or tell us we’re getting fat. Even more important, products don’t betray us.”
I agree that products are being marketed in the place of humans because my childhood experiences with advertisements were that if I had a Barbie doll, it would not only replace my friends but it would be my friend. I believe children are the most vulnerable to ads because they are so trusting and naive. Kilbourne argues that consumerism is basically stating that the only way we can be happy is through purchasing products. However, in my psych class at WCC, I learned that based on all sorts of different components of happiness, the people that are the happiest are the ones that have the least. I believe this is due to the fact that they are satisfied with what little they have, and they are not exposed to the million and one things there are to want. When we want things that we do not end up getting that causes negative feelings. Without these completely unnecessary wanting we further appreciate what we have.
When I was in fifth grade I went to Guatemala for the first time. I grew up a privileged child, so this was a real eye opener for me. The purpose of the trip was to work with a Guatemalan family and other people involved in the same organization as us to build a home. To build a concrete house (which was relatively small considering how many people each family has) costs around $2,000 and the family is required to take out a micro-loan. The family is not required to help but they did just as much work as we did, maybe more. These were the hardest working people I had come across. They were ecstatic to finally have a house and no longer live in a metal shack they had built. We had marshmallows in the car with us and we brought them to the family. They were so thankful! They savored every bite and did not ask for more, they were content.
We also visited a family that did not qualify for a micro-loan. There were six children in the family, all very close in age because they don’t believe in or have access to birth control there. They were living in a shack and burning plastic Frisbees instead of wood because that is what they have access to. They each had a few items of clothing, and worked in a field nearby making a few dollars a week. We talked to them through someone with us who spoke Spanish and translated for us. For people living in a shack the size of my living room in complete poverty they were happier and more thankful than the average person I know. Therefore, I agree with Kilbourne that consumerism leaves us feeling unsatisfied.
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