We’ve been zombified in so-called developed nations because what has really been developed has been a slick, modern, shiny, unhappy compliance with the consumer economy.
How could it turn out any different with the massive push to infect us with the viruses of FOMO and instant gratification?
That is why I don’t blame the victims here, all of us that have been indoctrinated, marinated, obliviated, and manipulated into a robotic satiation of consumer cravings by a young age.
Data backs this up: in the U.S., retail sales hit $7.2 trillion in 2024, and the purchase of ‘experiences' (travel, concerts, etc.) grew 30% since 2019.
Social media is the superspreader of this infection, with 60% of Gen Zers polled saying posts on sites like Instagram invite viewers to join the Consumer Zombie Nation and indulge in impulse buys. Better than brains - less messy and more fun.
Meanwhile, simple living, mindfulness, and minimalism trends are (feebly) rising as a pushback forms. Research shows that only about 10% of Americans actively practice minimalism.
I get it - zombies want what zombies want. But eventually everyone has been zombified, the system is tapped out, and there are no fresh brains left.
The still zombified, or the zombie curious in newly consumerized nations, need compassion and understanding.
The kind and loving thing to do for yourself or someone you love, is to take a dose of the safe and effective simplicity solution. Its ingredients are minimalism, enoughism, discipline, gratitude and mindfulness. This solution has been tested over thousands of years and proven to be a robust treatment for consumer zombification.
Side effects include frugality, thrift, moderation, self-control, joy, and happiness, as well as improved mental and physical health.
There has to be a mass movement of people that wish to reclaim a more genuine life and purpose through mindful joyful living guided by the practices of simplicity and minimalism. Only then can we successfully de-zombify as cultures and civilizations.
What, or who, do you think’s driving the zombie-like cravings that continue to command so much time, money, resources, and attention?
Is it social pressure, boredom, or something deeper?
Let us know what you think in a comment below.
I’m floored by all the new stuff we find on the second hand market, where I ‘m looking for clothes after weight loss. It is obvious that people are constantly buying new items to be able to fill their yard sales with so much stuff. And so many of them sell brand new items they bought and didn’t use and turn around and sell for pennies on the dollar. It doesn’t make sense and is sadly massive overconsumption trying to fill some kind of void in their lives.
ReplyDeleteWe have to find healthier ways of filling that void. And figure out what is causing that void, perhaps. I have a few ideas, and I am sure you and other readers do, too.
Delete- Gregg
Money! Don't we all know? Unfortunately the so called social media, perhaps invented to make our lives better, if used well a quick source of important information and/or to stay in touch with far away friends or relatives, have become a powerful tool for the ever thundering economy. If there is social pressure it's the main source now. In my job I see the crap sold and unsold, in my volunteer job (thrift shop) I see the crap never used donated.
ReplyDeleteIt is out of control, but people are waking up rapidly. The powers that shouldn’t be can slow us down, but they can’t stop us. Soon they won’t even be able to slow us down and they will have to run and hide in their bunkers. They will eventually emerge from their bunkers, then have to learn to get along in the new world that was built by the productive part of society while the former powers' parasitic influence was absent.
Delete- Gregg
I think it's disconnection. The smart phone and social media have made as dumb AF. Hours of doomscrolling make us want what influencers have, their clothes, their lives, their everything. At some level I would hope we know these things aren't real- I mean the crap is real-but the lives are not. We have lost the ability to connect on a personal level with each other and find real meaning. We've stopped living in community, going to church or our place of worship and sharing our lives with each other. I'm using the Royal We here, I don't give a toss what influencers are doing, I'm (un) sadly out of the loop on all the latest trends and gossip and we have built a good community around us. But it takes personal investment and compromise. That was a big one for me, learning how to sometimes lean into discomfort and do the best thing in that moment. Be willing to be raw, imperfect and make mistakes. People don't want to do this now, they're so divided and unwilling to listen to each other. It will literally be the downfall of our society.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you say here. I read an excellent article recently that outlined how this has been done on purpose in order to funnel more and more money and power to the parasites at the top. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Delete- Gregg
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-coup-the-calamity-and-the-conspiracy/
Delete- Gregg