People Are Sharing Overconsumption Trends They Hate The Most, And Humans Are So Wasteful

21.

“Since the ’70s, your job in the Western world as a human has been to consume. Things used to be made to last, but now that makes it impossible to maintain and increase profits. So obsolescence is built in, and everything is offered in more varieties than anyone would ever need so that you can feel you are expressing yourself with your consumption choices. It’s no accident that the internet — a technology that was supposed to unite us all — has been turned into a hyper-advanced advertising network that is designed to keep you believing you are expressing yourself by feeding back from an echo chamber of those who already agree with you. Every aspect of your physical and psychological needs has been examined, predicted, and catered to to ensure you keep believing the most important thing in the world is your feeling OK and like an individual.”

“The problem with being an individual is that it’s fine when things are going well, but when things go badly, you’re ultimately alone. Deep down, we know this. So nobody feels OK. We know it’s a lie, and that it’s all just designed to keep us from realizing what we’re capable of if we pull together as a civilization. To keep us from giving ourselves up to some bigger purpose that might take power away from those who greedily cling to it.”

—u/GenomeXIII