Buy! Buy! Buy! A conversation about consumerism in our society

The Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries enabled mass production of cheap goods. As disposable income grew so did the demand for more and more things. Throw in some advertising and you have consumerism, which is this evening's topic!

1. Do you believe that companies spend money to convince people to buy goods and services they don’t really need? Why or why not?
2. Why do we sometimes "impulse buy" an item that we don’t really need?
3. If you can afford it do purchases of unneeded goods really matter? Why or why not?
4. What, to you, is an "unnecessary" purchase?
5. If most people limited their “unnecessary” purchases, would it help our current world conditions? Would it harm them? How and why?
6. Do you find it hard to cut back on “unnecessary” purchases? Why or why not?
7. Do you feel guilty when you buy things and then realize that you will never use them? What do you do with them? Why?
8. What is something that you used to manage perfectly well without but is now essential? Why can’t you manage without it now?
9. Do you find "sales" irresistible? Why? Are they usually a real bargain or just a gimmick?
10. How much are you influenced by advertising? Which form of advertising do you find most effective: television ads, online ads, bill boards, magazine ads, others? Why?
11. Do you feel that pressure to “keep up with the Jones's” influences your purchases? Why or why not?
12. Who do you think is responsible for the huge increase in consumerism in our lifetimes: Industry, retailers, government, investors, ourselves? Why?
13. Why have “occasions” like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween, Grey cup weekend, etc. become so commercialized? Do the extra decorations, fancier food, etc increase your enjoyment or just increase the cost and amount of work?
14. Many ads now try to persuade us to indulge ourselves, inferring that life's dissatisfactions can be solved by buying a new product or experience. Is this realistic?
15. Do you find that buying things makes you happy? Why or why not?
16. Why do you think that some companies are trending away from selling specific items (foods, cosmetics, hard goods) and concentrating on selling “experiences” (gourmet restaurants, romantic cruises, adventure tours, etc) that promise to help us gain future returns and happiness by present consumption?
17. What effect, if any, do you think consumerism is having on young people? Why?
18. Do you think that our society could ever return to a less consumerism-driven mode? Why or why not?
19. Were earlier generations more frugal than we are now? Have our attitudes changed from “mend and make do” to “dispose and buy new”? Why? Do we have a choice in the matter or are skilled tailors, shoemakers, appliance repairers simply no longer available?
20. Do you think that improvements in modern materials and skills have made our clothes, machines etc. last longer? Or do some manufacturers now build "planned obsolescence" into their products so that we have no choice but to replace the items more frequently?
    *** BONUS QUESTIONS! ***
21. It can seem that some companies tempt us to overindulge with rich, tasty foods, while others encourage us to buy gym memberships or exercise equipment to lose weight and others still promote medications and supplements to cure our resulting ills. Should governments impose regulations to restrict the harmful cycle that these ads promote? Why or why not?
22. Prices for many goods, including necessities such as food, have been rapidly increasing recently. If people need to cut back on purchases to the extent that “continuous consumption of goods and services” is no longer a priority, what do you think will happen to our economy?
23. What do you believe is at the heart of consumerism? Jealousy? Greed? Insecurity? Vanity? Manipulation? Something else? Why?
24. If you knew that a company with an "easy return policy" was in fact just throwing away returned items, would that change your attitude towards dealing with that company? Why or why not?
25. Is the idea of "retail therapy" just an excuse for overconsumption? Why or why not?

Special thanks to Jose for both proposing this topic and providing the lion's share of the questions!

I hope that you will join us for this discussion.
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Given the success of this format we are going to be continuing to gather via Zoom. We will be allowing up to 30 participants for this meeting and, after a brief introduction, we will be splitting off into virtual "tables" of six.
As long as you have RSVP'd before 5:30PM on the day of the event you should receive an email from Robert prior to 6:30PM giving you the Zoom meetup credentials.
*** PLEASE NOTE ***
If you are a member of Table Conversations and you didn't receive an email announcing THIS Table Conversations meetup then you likely won't receive the email with the Zoom information on the evening of the event. Please confirm that your Meetup.com profile is configured correctly by carefully following the step-by-step instructions in this link: https://www.meetup.com/tableconversations/events/270360456/
Otherwise, since I don't control Meetup's mail system, if you are not receiving notifications please contact Meetup.com for assistance.
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* Room opens at 6:45PM (often earlier) for socialization
* Discussion starts at 7:15 and finishes at 8:45ish
* Keep talking until dawn!