Embedded Files
In this article, Peter complains about the consumer-based world in which Americans live.
Daily Life as a Consumer in the 21st Century
Daily Life as a Consumer in the 21st Century
By: Peter Easterwood
By: Peter Easterwood
The world is constant and ever-adapting. From the creation of the wheel to the advancement of AI, Earthlings are going through a continuous cycle of discoveries. Now, are all creations needed? No, and not all of them are good either. As of 2025, people have seen vast varieties of unnecessary creations that are made for one purpose only. Money. Some of these have a good use but, based on the price range, are not worth it and do not deserve the internet praise. The use of this article is not for the fun of making fun of these trends, but it is a reflection for everyone to wonder whether they needed that product or not.
Micro-trends are the main factor for most people's involvement with consumerism. Almost every week, there is a micro-trend that traps many into purchasing junk they will forget about a month from now. Items like water bottles have a usage of sustainability, but the trend of purchasing more and more counteracts that sustainability. It contaminates the already fragile environment, and also wastes the precious money of all who fall for the previously said "trap".
Photo from: Allrecipes
Reusable water bottles have been the trend lately, with multiple new companies unveiling a new “high tech” water bottle that not only looks cool but also can keep your water colder for 30 seconds longer than the last trending water bottle. The idea is to save the environment from plastic and to slow down the production of plastic, but it is not like these bottles are not also produced in massive quantities, identical to plastic bottles. The environment for these products varies between three iconic brands: Owala, Stanley, and Hydro Flask. In America, the “Land of the Free”, these three are everywhere. The main idea for water bottles is to be reused for years on end but, with the rise in the trend of owning one, the reusable has expanded into the reusability of, at the bare minimum, four water bottles. No one genuinely needs four water bottles, and this influx of ownership has also increased production. Avery Schuyler Nunn (a writer for National Geographic) wrote, “Yet, reusable water bottles are also made from an energy intensive process, and experts note that manufacturing a single reusable bottle can produce more emissions than producing a single-use plastic bottle.” Are they helping the environment and slowing the plastic bottle consumption? Yes, but buying an extensive amount of them is destroying the point of the word “reusable”. Instead of reusability for something like bottles, some trends lose their pizzazz and are ditched on the floor.
Photo from: Wonder Gears
Who remembers kendamas? Who remembers fidget spinners? Who remembers Fushigi? All three of these are examples of a trending item that has no use outside of self-entertainment. While fidget spinners are still utilized today for kids and adults to relax and concentrate when under stress, the other two have no real purpose other than play. Throw a ball on a string either onto three separate cups or even land on the spike (if up to the task), or play with an acrylic ball that only a skilled few can make look cool, while the rest drop the ball on their foot 99% of the time. Let's two examples of useless products that end up either in a trash bin or on someone's shelf collecting dust:
fushigi
fushigi
Fushigi ended up being more or less a scam. A Fushigi advertisement shows off this normal-looking ball as anti-gravity, with a bunch of paid actors previewing this super-easy-to-use toy to impress all of your friends. However, the exact opposite was true. The anti-gravity part requires the disgusting, time-consuming idea of practice and the development of the Fushigi Arts. The ball is advertised as barely touching people's hands. It floats around their hands and arms. Sadly, the truth was that it required practice, and for many kids under eight years old, practice is not intriguing. A toy that looks cool but is nowhere near cool, due to how it is just a steel ball, and an eight-year-old, who will be disappointed and probably angry that they cannot get the skill down, is not a good combination. Obviously, after an abundance of angry customers, Fushigi lost its luster and went bankrupt not too long afterward. Now, the company is not known for its gravity-defying ball but as a large scam that broke the hearts of many kids.
Pokémon
Pokémon
Another way to break the hearts of many children is the absence of Pokémon cards at the store. Over the fun COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a massive increase in Pokémon collectors, from young to old, they were everywhere. Five months into 2025, there is a trend of scalping, with all of the scalpers being mid-thirty-year-old men who believe this will help supply their bank accounts. It has gotten so bad that there are fights for Pokémon cards almost every single day. Costco, Target, Walmart, and it seems that every single retail store suffers from the purging of these evil scalpers. Even on the official Pokémon Forums, the complaints of scalpers are common to see. One user, LeafyCat01, displays this distaste, saying, “With Destined Rivals on rapid approach, and hot off the heels of Journey Together, the scalping situation has only gotten worse. It's to the point that unless the TCG is your only spend, a normal person can't afford to participate.” We talk about the great divide between the urban and rural, but what about the great divide between scalpers and the “others?" The landscape of Pokémon card buying is bleak: pay two times the original price and watch as the card crumbles as it sits in its lonesome on the desk where it was once cherished.
Photo from: Youtube
Consumerism is everywhere. Go onto any social media app and everywhere are the “next” trends. There are a vast variety of content creators who supply this almost addictive behavior and have fun doing so. Whenever a new trend pops up, think about whether it is worth the purchase or not. Cry now that the money was not spent. Laugh later for the same reason.
Page updated
Report abuse