Nowadays, advertisements surround us from every direction. We are constantly encouraged to purchase items we would never have considered needing. A simple online search on our mobile devices triggers an avalanche of offers and eye-catching images that eventually persuade us to make unnecessary purchases, whether they be gadgets, clothing, or accessories.
The 'AntiConsumption' online community fights against consumerism, one post at a time. Its members share insightful content that inspires us to change our habits and reduce the accumulation of goods simply because they were suggested, rather than because we genuinely need them.
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Why Have I Never Seen Anything Like This?
What's Yours?
Yes! You Should Wear Stuff For Years
In order to gain a better understanding of the psychological aspects of the consumerism issue that people face, we have reached out to a clinical psychologist based in the UK, Michaela Thomas. The founder of The Thomas Connection shared with us some insight based directly on her clinical experience.
We wanted to know if Thomas has encountered cases of compulsive or addictive consumption behaviors in her research or practice. We found out that: “Yes, I have clients in my clinic who can compulsively overspend or purchase items they don't need. It's important to understand the root cause behind this behavior, as it changes the treatment. If it is an acquisition behavior as part of hoarding, where someone collects more and more things, and at the same time struggles to let go of things they already have, even if they seem to serve no purpose to others, then that consumption builds up into other problems, like cluttering, unhygienic homes, and arguments with loved ones.”
Instead Of Polluting The Planet With Confetti, Hole Punch Leaves Instead! 🌎🎉
Ha Ha Ha Ha Sports
Spooky Reusables
The psychologist told us about other, more complex instances: “If overspending is due to lack of financial planning, or wanting the dopamine kick of how good it feels to purchase something, that can be linked to ADHD, depression, mania, psychosis, or other dopamine-related issues. In ADHD, it can be really hard to resist sponsored content like Facebook ads or TV ads, telling you to get this thing NOW, in order to feel happier, or because otherwise there is a sense of FOMO, if you don't have this thing NOW.”
This Small Act Of Kindness Can Make Such A Huge Difference! Love To See It
Climate Dad Knows Better
Meirl
Asked what the psychological benefits of adopting a minimalist or simple living lifestyle are and how individuals can cultivate contentment and satisfaction with less, Michela Thomas explained: “Psychologically, it can feel a lot less overwhelming in your day-to-day with less visual clutter. It is easier to organize ourselves and find things day-to-day with fewer belongings. If we keep buying more and more, we can find ourselves less satisfied with the things we already have, or now get. Often there is a mismatch between the pursuing and the consuming of something we buy - that we focus so much on acquiring things that we don't have enough time sitting in the appreciation of what we've got. If we buy something less rarely and learn the art of mindfully savoring something after we have got it, we might feel more content and grateful for what we have. Having less is more, and doing less is also more.”
Bioplastics Made From Avocado Pits That Completely Biodegrade In 240 Days Created By Mexican Chemical Engineering Company 🥑
Weddings Can Get So Wasteful And Polluting, So It's Always Nice To See People Embracing Reuse. This Idea Of Requiring New Things On Your Special Day Is Outdated And Promotes Unnecessary Consumerism, So Anyway Yes, Let's Appreciate Second-Hand Wedding Gowns!
I Came Across This Years Ago And It De-Programmed Me From The Consumerist Mindset. From Matt Haig's Reasons To Stay Alive
Lastly, we were wondering how parents and educators can teach children and adolescents about responsible consumption and develop their critical thinking skills regarding advertising and consumer culture. The clinical psychologist told us: “It's helpful to engage children in the eco perspective of how fast fashion or mindless consumption impacts the environment, understanding the impact of using non-renewable resources. We can do that without creating eco-anxiety by showing in a neutral way that we try to reduce single-use plastic, or borrow books from the library instead of just buying new ones, or taking them to second-hand shops for toys and clothes. It then becomes part of their normal, just like we brush our teeth or look both ways before crossing the street - ingrained habits. In my child's school, they have an eco council where children can volunteer to take part and review the school's practices around sustainability, and come up with bright ideas. The children are our future, let them be part of designing it (in an age-appropriate way).”
I Believe It Fits Here
Golf courses are rubbish for then environment, little scope for biodiversity and lots of water run off .
F**k Better Learning Materials Or Whatever, Let's Build A Massive Shrine To A Couple Dozen Students That Do Something For A Few Months A Year
This applies to high school too. The football and basketball teams get the money for equipment when that money could be used to buy new books and supplies to teach kids.
These Bags Are Crocheted From Recycled Yarn. My Sister And I Make These Bags From Old, Unwanted Sweaters And Cardigans
Felt Like This Belonged Here
Gucci-Poochie Can't Go Potty
What An Idea!
Where Can I Buy A Card With This On It?
Regenerative Candles Creates New Candle As It Melts
Never Forget, The Electric Car Is Here To Save The Car Industry, Not The Planet
well and your very tweet is for your influence, not for the planet. Ppl in some countries tend to not see that there's something in between black and white when it comes to electric cars. And that there are many benefits of an electric car besides causing way less CO2 than conventional cars in their lifetimes (even if battery was produced with conventional power mix). Sure, car industry makes a good deal, too, what's bad about this? They employ many workers, too.
Bernie Showing Us All The Way!!
Things Used To Last For More Time
Oh, it's my old Kenmore! Yeah, that sucker broke in the early 90s. Think I've had my current one longer.
This Library Has Cake Pans You Can Check Out
Let’s Be Real
We Need A Different Economy
There Was Once A Time When
My Local Pizza Place Uses A Ball Of Dough Instead Of Those Little Plastic Tables To Prevent The Pizza Box Lid From Touching The Pizza
Capitalism Drives Innovation! The Innovations:
As A Pcos Patient Who Often Feels Bad About How She Looks, I Need This Reminder A Lot
Capitalism is just a form of power and power will twist anything. They've twisted beauty for power. However, ugly and beautiful are real things. No one made a dime off the beauty of a sparkling mountain lake or the hideousness of a blobfish. Regardless of how attractive each is, both are still vital to this world and deserve to be appreciated and respected. We need to refuse to let power tell us otherwise. Same thing with people.
Eating These Corporations Is The Only Way To Truly Save The Earth
It Never Worked In The First Place. Ever Since The Pandemic Started, We Are All Collectively Realizing This
Street Sticker
“One-Time Use” Froyo Spoons That I’ve Been Using For 8 Years
Knew It Fit Here
They used to make things to last. Now they make them to wear out as soon as possible (and in the case of electronics, as soon as the warranty expires!)
On Black Friday 2008, 34 Yr Old Walmart Employee, Jdimytai Damour, Was Asked By His Employer To Use His 6’5 Body As A Barrier For A Crowd Of Over 2,000 People
He died that day after being trampled by the crowd. The shoppers did not concerned about his death, and even complained of waiting too long.
Trampled to death by the customer stampede. Noone was ever tried for this, but Walmart had to pay a fine of 7000$ for OSHA violations (that they spent more than 1 million dollars publicly contesting to state they had done nothing wrong). More: https://nathanveshecco.medium.com/jdimytai-damour-10-years-later-277706add1e6
Reminder That The Skincare Industry Is Predatory
Got Laid Off From My Job. I Have A Mug I Really Love But Has My Old Company’s Logo On It. Instead Of Throwing It Away, I Ordered A $3 Waterproof Vinyl Sticker To Put Over It. I Love The Mug Even More!
I did the same thing. Put gay pride stickers all over my covertly homophobic former company
McDonald's Has New Reusable Containers For Dine In Orders Now
You Can't Tell Me That Driving Through The Night Would Be A Better Option Than This
This Is Why I Despise “Collectibles”
Pretty Much Sums It Up
My Little '98 Camry Compared To 2 Modern Vehicles
This Entire Bin Full Of Brand New, Intentionally Destroyed Shoes, Destined For Landfill. All To Prevent Reselling And To Maintain An Artificially High Price
Kroger Potatoes All Individually Wrapped In Plastic. I Don’t Understand Why Potatoes Can’t Just Be Sold As-Is? Why Is The Plastic Necessary?
Anti-Medical System ❤️
Buy Nothing
Reduce consumption is a great idea but buy nothing is impossible. The thread on this cross-stitch required someone to grow cotton to make both the thread and the cloth. Someone else had to spin it into threads and then make it into cloth. A bunch of miners had to get the steel to make the needle for it. Someone had to grow food to feed all those people. That's a lot of people buying things just to survive and feed their families so one person can make an art piece on a wall. Art is what makes life worth living and a lot people depend on each other so an artist can afford both the materials and time to make it.
Am I The Only One Infuriated By Cooler Screens?? These Video Screens At Gas Stations Are Worse Than Just A Glass Door In Every Way
It's Worse Than You Can Imagine In Japan
This Aluminum Can Comes Wrapped In Plastic
1944 Ad From The Us War Advertising Council. "Be A Saver Not A Buyer"
It's Not A Lot, But It's Definitely More Than Nothing
One Apple Slice In This Plastic Baggie, Advertising A Movie About The Ocean…
Eco Friendly
This Should Be Normalised
Definitely
I have a purchase policy. I never buy anything with an advertisement. If something I normally buy gets advertised, I stop buying it.
This Belongs Here
"Like other resources, Human Resources are to be exploited in corporate processes and the waste products disposed of as cheaply as possible." - The Capitalist Bible
I Carve Avocado Seeds And Made This Axe Necklace! 🥑
We Can Do Our Best But At The End Of The Day The Force Of Capitalism Is What’s Destroying The Planet
Sustainability is a synonym for perpetual motion, which is useless. What you want is efficiency, minimise use of resources.
The Bastardization Of One Times Square
Tis The Season Of Waste And Unnecessary Purchases!
On Many Japanese Toilets, The Hand Wash Sink Is Attached So That You Can Wash Your Hands And Reuse The Water For The Next Flush . Japan Saves Millions Of Liters Of Water Every Year
Dumpster Absolutely Full Of Still Frozen Meat And Food. Got Free $13 Ribeyes. Couldnt Take All
A Shopping Mall, Where The Lights Are Always On, The Music Always Playing (Even In The Parking Garage!), Even If The Shops Are Closed
Today I Made Almost 4 Gallons Of Laundry Soap. I'm The Third Generation In My Family To Use This Recipe. Eat Your Heart Out, Tide Pods!
Libraries Are The Bastions Of Anti-Consumption
"The Void You Fill With Consumerism Is Your Own Disempowerment." Pasteup In Austin
Reality
💯
The Sheer Amount Of Stuff That Could Be Recycled Or Donated At The End Of The Semester That’s Just Tossed Out
An Old Comic That Sent Me On The Path To Anti-Consumerism
My rats are way smarter than that. As long as they've got plenty to eat and a comfy nest and friends to play with, they're happy.
If You Want To Stop Climate Change, Stop Buying Stupid Shit You Don't Need
I thought that line was a pushback on all the 'how to be eco friendly' stuff thats rammed at people constantly. Stuff that takes a lot of time that most people don't have and sometimes money too. Not to say people shouldn't do their best we absolutely should. But I always took this as a push back to it being pushed as an individual person problem to solve to make up look up at the dickheads with full control who are causing so so much more and doing nothing to even try
Irony. Not For The Average Consumer
Cookie Waste
I Felt Like Sharing. For A Household Of 3 To Only Produce 1 Bag Of Trash For The Week Feels Good. Wish It Could Be Zero
No Amount Of Wealth Could Ever Stop This
This Might Belong Here
It makes sense to me that there are no comments on this yet. This is the same emotional manipulation that goes on BP continually, every day. Some people tend to look at one aspect and then forgive the evilness of the rest. They can't think more than 1 step ahead and are unable to see that how what they believe to be "kind" or "right" is actually the first step in an inevitable process that leads down a terrible path.
Soup In Edible Bread Cups
Wow This M&ms Statement Is Crazy
I Hate That This Is Becoming A Trend, So Wasteful
N-N-No You C-Cant Do T-This That'll Hurt Our P-Profits
One Family Decided To Count How Many Yeti Products They Bought Over The Years. Top Comment Was Yeti Offering Even More Products To Their Collection
$2000 Garbage Bag, Unreal
Starbucks Mobile App Claims A 30 Min Wait. Employees Claim A 2+ Hour Wait. Manager Says Corporate Wont Shut Down Mobile Orders
I Feel This So Hard
Under Capitalism
I personally think that this is a perfect example of ethical consumption
Doing The Work For Us
Bunch Of Escooters Becoming Ewaste
Ad Free Subways Make The Inside Look Larger And Lighter
This Gross Commercialization Of Bob Ross Into Mints And Energy Drinks
But Why Cover It In Plastic!?
Spotted In The Wild At A Hipster Coffee Shop. They Said They Sell At Least One A Week…
"Wind Farms Are Ugly" Corporate Media
In NYC They Just Cut The Lights Off Of Trees After The Holidays And (I Assume) Throw Them Away
This image and statement get used on BP a lot. No, this isn't what's happening at all. This isn't a tree with Christmas lights, for the Christmas season. This is a tree that is always lit, every single night. When the light strand breaks, they cut it off and put on a new one. They're not cutting off lights that are good and work. Don't believe the BP lies.
New Amazon Marketing Technique: Manipulate People Into Believing Consumption=happiness
Consumerism Will Be The Downfall Of Humanity Unless Something Radically Changes
I Just Cannot Believe This Is Real. This Is Enough Soap To Last A Few Generations
$13, An Hour Of My Time, And A Good Amount Of Material Kept Out Of A Landfill. I Love Refurbishing Things!
Same. I got a free bbq from someone who was giving it away for free. Spent €50 on it to repair and improve it. Been using it since 4 years now.
The Sad Truth (Oc)
Got To Love How There Are Ads Litterally Everywhere
Why I Hate Life Hack Videos
This Is Ridiculous And Makes Me Feel Icky When I Look At It
A Store To Purchase Amazon Return Items
Green Chef Sent Me Two Separately Packaged Green Onions For The Same Recipe
Single Use Phone Chargers, Being Marketed As “Green”
Ok But At Least He’s Reusing Lol
A Cardboard Six Pack Holder From A Major Beverage Manufacturer
Thought That People In This Community Would Be Interested In This
F**k sake. How long it takes to go to/from the air strip then, probably more than 40 min!
Of Course The CEO Of Kellogg Is Going To Say That Constant Consumption Is What's Going To "Save Us From A Recession" These People Are Unreal
Milka's Greed
This Line, Nearly 3 Hours Before The Taylor Swift "Merch" Shop Opens In Philly
Do We Hate Plastic Stuff Or Single Use Stuff More???
I Work At Supermarket. This Is What Our Uber Orders Look Like
My Brain Refuses To Comprehend This Price
God I Fucking Hate It Here. Spotted In A Shopping District In Denver
Someone Was Posting Links To Shein, So I Gave A Link To An Article About How Awful The Company Is. This Was Their Response
Do Not Provide Your Children The Choice Of Paid-For Higher Education
Reminder: The Owner Of Wapo Sells Coffee Pods At Their Other Business. Don't Fall For This Greenwashing
Disney Is One Corporation That Needs To Die
That's on the parents, not Disney. No one is twisting their arms and making them go. This is a huge problem in this Country. It's called scapegoating, blaming an outside entity instead of taking responsibility for your own actions.
Excessive Packaging Is So F***ing Wasteful
What In The Sh-T
Why Is Packaging So Much More Eco Friendly In Paris Than USA? And How Do We Make These Changes Here?
Who Buys This Crap?
Its Sharper Image. Their entire business model was stuff you don't need.
Catedral De Barcelona Inviting You To Mass And Buying A Phone
Anon Is Happy With His Computer
Since 2018, The Affordable Restaurants Are No Longer Worth It. Food Quality Goes Down As Prices Go Up
What Happened To Buying 1 Console For Them All And Them Learning The Value Of Sharing?
There was 3 of us growing up. The big present under the tree every couple years or so was for all of us. It was a console with an extra controller. It was labelled for all of us. 2 controllers, 3 kids. We either played with winner stays on, or if it was a different type of game we took turns and played at different times 🤷
I Hate This Type Of Useless Stuff
Corporations Would Literally Kill You To Turn A Profit
This Makes Me Feel Ill
This Bullsh*t
Sorry Future Generations
If It Ain't Broke
I've been using a single "disposable" twin blade razor for about six months. A pack of ten lasts about 5 years.
I Hacked My Car Radio To Support Aux. Now I Don't Have To Listen To Annoying Commercials On The Radio. Also I Dont Have To Buy A New One That Support Aux. Win-Win Situation!
If you drive an older car, you may have a hidden aux port under the carpet in the trunk from the days when trunk-mounted CD changers were a thing.
And The Base Package Is $45,000
Alright Everyone, What Are Your Limits?
A Rare Positive Post Here: If Only More People Treated Their Possessions This Way
For anyone as confused as I was, he covered ink stains on his shirt with embroidery instead of throwing it out
Embodiment Of This Sub
Rest Well This Holiday Season!
The irony of this list appearing on Bored Panda, a website that bombards you with ads trying to sell you junk you don't need.
Really? I hardly see any ads at all, just one box in the right-hand column and an occasional banner within the scroll.
Load More Replies...Funny how anti consumerism always ends up anti capitalism. Consumerism is a global problem. The comments on here are more ignorant than the ones on fox news.
Some people here are a bit confused about what capitalism is
Load More Replies...These lists keep getting posted, but to what end? It's just complaining and virtue signaling. This menu is expensive! This shirt has a logo! This person bought an expensive purse!
Psychologically speaking, our thoughts lead to our actions. If we want a functioning economy, we need to remind ourselves that our current economy is completely dysfunctional. I know seeing this s**t is demoralizing AF, but if it's really causing so much of a mental strain that you felt the need to make this complaint, perhaps you should spend your energy elsewhere
Load More Replies...Shouldn't this have been titled "sorry kids, your futures funked!"?
Its official. I'm taking bored panda out of my morning routine. I used to love waking up in the morning and seeing recommendations for comics and fun pictures or questions. Now everytime an article is recommended it puts me in a bad mindset with depressing posts. Farewell all my fellow Pandas. I am removing myself from the environment.
In a society that forces people to have cars, I'd rather have an electric than a gas car. It's not my fault I'm forced to participate in the system, if I could work from home and walk to a farmers market for groceries, I gladly would.
Great article and wonderful installlments! Gives me hope to know we're all equally concerned.
If there is a passing bandwagon a government will jump on it, not to make things better because they know it means more expense in the long term mean more money for them.
The irony of this list appearing on Bored Panda, a website that bombards you with ads trying to sell you junk you don't need.
Really? I hardly see any ads at all, just one box in the right-hand column and an occasional banner within the scroll.
Load More Replies...Funny how anti consumerism always ends up anti capitalism. Consumerism is a global problem. The comments on here are more ignorant than the ones on fox news.
Some people here are a bit confused about what capitalism is
Load More Replies...These lists keep getting posted, but to what end? It's just complaining and virtue signaling. This menu is expensive! This shirt has a logo! This person bought an expensive purse!
Psychologically speaking, our thoughts lead to our actions. If we want a functioning economy, we need to remind ourselves that our current economy is completely dysfunctional. I know seeing this s**t is demoralizing AF, but if it's really causing so much of a mental strain that you felt the need to make this complaint, perhaps you should spend your energy elsewhere
Load More Replies...Shouldn't this have been titled "sorry kids, your futures funked!"?
Its official. I'm taking bored panda out of my morning routine. I used to love waking up in the morning and seeing recommendations for comics and fun pictures or questions. Now everytime an article is recommended it puts me in a bad mindset with depressing posts. Farewell all my fellow Pandas. I am removing myself from the environment.
In a society that forces people to have cars, I'd rather have an electric than a gas car. It's not my fault I'm forced to participate in the system, if I could work from home and walk to a farmers market for groceries, I gladly would.
Great article and wonderful installlments! Gives me hope to know we're all equally concerned.
If there is a passing bandwagon a government will jump on it, not to make things better because they know it means more expense in the long term mean more money for them.