Consumerism is a rising problem around the world that is being promoted by mass media. Consumerism is defined as the protection or promotion of the interest of consumers. This means that mass media decides what information they will give to the consumers. The news advertises so much and makes people believe that they need the things that are advertised. In a video on YouTube a reporter by the name of Lori Harfenist of The Resident asks around New York about consumerism. During the holiday season, shopping becomes more important than the holiday cheer. In the video Lori asks a woman, Sara "Why do you think Americans are so obsessed with shopping during the holidays"? Sara answered "Media, you guys". Lori responds with "Because we tell everybody to buy stuff". Mass media does a really good job at making consumers believe that what they are selling them is a necessity, most of the time it's not. While reading an article on National Geographic News, the concept of consumerism became more clear to me. They explained, Approximately 1.7 billion people worldwide now belong to the "consumer class"- the group of people characterized by diets of highly processed food, desire for bigger houses, more and bigger cars, higher levels of debt, and lifestyles devoted to the accumulation of non-essential goods". The reason that there is such a huge number of people in the consumer class is that media puts the idea of a need for everything into the minds of consumers of media. In an article on the Huffington Post, they talk about how we shifted into consumerism and the possibility of shifting back. They stated "But consumerism will not just magically disappear from it's central place in our culture. It need to be supplanted by something". If consumerism is going to be replaced it should be replaced with something that can be good for our culture. The news should be a useful source that informs people on important things happening in the world. Instead they are taking over people minds and making them apart of the consumer class by making them believe they need everything. Mass media controls what they allow us to see and know about but we can do the same for ourselves as individuals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90DBi3qzL20
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amitai-etzioni/the-crisis-of-american-co_b_1855390.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/01/0111_040112_consumerism_2.html
Margaux is a victim of rape in the case where she had no justice. She was coming towards the end of her freshman year at Indiana University. Her friends had just dropped her off to her dormitory after they had been out drinking. She was under the influence of alcohol so she was having a hard time finding her keys. A male student, also attending Indiana University approached her, she knew the student but she did not know him well. He helped her find her keys and then let her into her room. She didn't think of it as more than just kindness, until he raped her in her own bed. Because she was under the influence, she was in and out of consciousness while it was happening. The man told people that Margaux had consented to sex, yet Margaux was under the influence. There is a law that says when a woman is drunk to the point of passing out, she can't give consent. When she and her parents turned to the local police asking them to prosecute, they refused. Then Margaux turned to the campus justice system, however the campus justice system doesn't enforce criminal law. By this time the family was lost and had run out of options. Soon Margaux learned that another student down the hall from her had been harassed on two occasions by the same man that had raped her. Statistics show that 38% of rapists are a friend or acquaintance of the victim. There is a really high number of rape victims that have gotten no justice. It's not a fair system. Statistics also show that 60% of sexual assaults are not reported to the police and 97% of rapists will never spend a day in jail. Does anyone think about what could happen as result to ignoring the silent cries of these victims? When rapists are not put in jail, they can easily chose to rape another innocent girl or woman. Not many people pay attention to the complexity of the effect rape has on a life. Rape has lead girls into doing drugs, alcohol addiction, running away, and even attempting or committing suicide. It's time for people to pay close attention and listen to the silent cries of victims and make sure that justice is served.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124052847
https://rainn.org/statistics?gclid=COTyvNDkqr8CFUhufgodwR8A1g
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2013/10/29/maryville-waits-for-justice-while-many-rape-victims-suffer-in-silence/
