Consumerism/Mass Production

You might want to elaborate more on the subject because I don't get what you were pointing out to.

I was in the car with my friends passing through Dawra back from Jeita.
I felt I was like being pumped with commercials all across the road.

When I sounded discontent, my freelance partner told the rest that I have issues regarding mass production/commercialism/consumerism. He sounded apologetic. The others didn't event seem to relate to what the hell I was talking about.

Is this really the way things are now? I am applauded and disgusted with the average mental mode.
Am I wrong? Should I change and modernize and accept? Or is there any tenet to what I've experienced?

Wow, man I didn't expect some other person to think this way as I do, I understand your point 100% and most of the people I talk to them about the subject they either take it as a joke or just think I am crazy.

With all those adds, commercials, on the road, tv, and even on the internet you feel really business are pumping us with adds to make us pay, pay and pay more, they want us to buy their products and they want their products to stay popping infront of our faces wherever we go. This is mainly due to the consumer society that we are living in, most people here are trained to consume and buy stuff while on the other hand produce much much less than what they buy daily.

Such mass advertisements are a real mental virus in one way or another, as you move through the road or surf the internet, or watch t.v. those images you see in a certain sequence are planted in your subconscious, psychology has a really important role in every advertisement or commercials, people especially those with a weak brain, education, and will, are easily brainwashed. This may sound a bit of exaggeration but IMO thats how it works.

Back to the issue of consumerism, I do agree it is a real problem as people(especially Lebanese) and consuming more and more and working less and less, while people in other parts of the world are working more and more and consuming less and less. Thats a big problem IMO since the balance or man's work with respect to what he/she gets in return is no more there, IMO, for a perfect society people should get as much as they work ( i.e. you have to do as much as the same effort of the fisherman did in order for you to enjoy a meal of fish) This of course is impossible to happen because lots of things would have to change + we may have to go "primitive" again or at least decrease the speed of advance, for that to work. For example, in such an ideal society a "mwazaf dawle" who takes a 100$ while just sitting on his desk and drinking coffee will not be able to buy a 100$ hand made leather jacket that would take a Chinese guy like 2 days of sweat to make it by hand ( this may not be accurate but just to give an example).

Thank you very much arithma for bringing our this issue :)

Small land, high population to land ratio, industrial location.

It's expected.

Well we are a 3rd world country, and this is to address the masses not only us as geeks.
So basically we are sheep who can be mind controlled by bombarding us with ads everywhere dont forget that we like prestige and buying new stuff without even using them 100%(think about IPad here).
This can also be applied to industrial countries or the so called 1st world countries, but on a smaller scale.

This can also be applied to industrial countries or the so called 1st world countries, but on a smaller scale.

Not necessarily on smaller scale everywhere, in the U.S. the average person consumes much much more than we do. You have to see how much clothes some people buy and wear only once, thats what I call "kofor" whoever that person was.

AymanFarhat wrote

This can also be applied to industrial countries or the so called 1st world countries, but on a smaller scale.

Not necessarily on smaller scale everywhere, in the U.S. the average person consumes much much more than we do. You have to see how much clothes some people buy and wear only once, thats what I call "kofor" whoever that person was.

When you talk about clothing then this is Chinese to me so i think about Consumer Electronics most of the time.
In order to judge on US about that we should ask someone who lives there.

It's simple.. Ignorance allows for manipulation. Most consumers are extremely ignorant when it comes to buying products/services. In Lebanon, the case is much worse that in other countries like USA, Canada and Europe. At least consumers there actually look at the label before they buy anything. But over here, people simply buy stuff because it's available in the market, or because someone they know is buying it.

Although the business world is moving towards micro-marketing, there's still room for mass-marketing as well. Mass marketing is usually used for promoting low-involvement products (stuff you do not give a lot of thought before buying it and is usually relatively not expensive). On the other hand, micro-marketing is used for high involvement products such as cars, computers, jewelry, cosmetics and similar products.

The point of marketing is to first create awareness (if you did not see a tv commercial or a bulletin ad for the product, you will not know it exists in the first place). Then, the marketer tries to convince you that you need this product because this product will solve a problem for you which in most cases you did not even know you had this problem. Many people argue that marketing creates needs but marketers simply reply by saying that marketing helps you realize you had those needs.

You would literally be amazed when you actually know how delicate each and every component of the advertisement or commercial is. Every color, every object, ever sound, every image... etc has its role. You do not promote a luxurious product like an expensive smart phone the way you promote a tuna can, right? Besides, many people also believe that subliminal messages used in ads and commercials have the ability to make you buy the product without you knowing why you're buying it. Regardless of whether this is ethical or not, many marketers actually use this technique.

It is a matter of Psychology.

did you know... there is (or was?) a Law in Lebanon that forbids displaying ads any closer then 100 meterd (or was it 200 from the road). Im sorry the details are sketchy but im pretty sure that there is a law against all that visual littering but that it is not applied.

rolf wrotedid you know... there is (or was?) a Law in Lebanon that forbids displaying ads any closer then 100 meterd (or was it 200 from the road). Im sorry the details are sketchy but im pretty sure that there is a law against all that visual littering but that it is not applied.

That is true actually. The problem is that it's not being enforced. Actually, whenever I'm in a car for a long distance (and it's not me who's driving) I spend the whole time looking at the ads placed on either sides of the road. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed and it's really hard to catch up on all of them, they're just way too many!

Well I do not get the point of the topic still, but where is the problem if you've spotted something you know is there to manipulate you or whatever the verb you feel like using.

Is it hard to turn your head and ignore the ads? As far as I know there has always been random advertisements here and there on every corner of the road and this is not only in Lebanon but everywhere around the world: London, New York, Tokyo, Paris... anywhere you go even on websites you are looking for "please click here to proceed to <insert page here>", just as you are about to play your favorite video online you get to see couple of advertisements and the list goes on and on.

Not only that but its getting even better with the topic-centered ads -----> Google.

You've been searching for DVDs online? Great, now we shall give you DVD ads.

In the end, and I ask again, how hard is it to ignore?

Sure at some point you'll give in and be tempted to buy a product but this is only because such product interested you in one way or another. You're not buying the product because you got sick of the ads (mind you, they will still be there after your product purchase) but because you thought you might have some use for it.

Two remarks:

I am surprised to see posts like xterm's or ayman's linking the consumerism problem to Lebanon. Have you ever seen cities like New York, Paris, London or Tokyo ? Not only are ads all over the place (branding and communication there go way WAY beyond advertisements), but it actually seems people are turning into batteries that produce money just so they could spend it. As a matter of facts, while the problem still exists there (it is inherent to capitalism and big cities concepts) Beirut is always a consumerism asylum for me each time I go back. To great extents I feel that people there are still in touch with their inner human nature. More than you'd think, they have concerns different from spending money (simple things like hunting, fishing, planting a garden, having a farm, getting in touch with nature, ... )

My second remark is not a reaction to consumerism in genera as much as it is a response to arithma's question. I too feel tired of being subject to the advertisements in the street. I too feel I'm a victim of consumerism. I too feel that as a human being, I should look past the latest iPod or the fancy RayBans. People should live off of small things, and the concept of making money itself, is the first driving factor to consuming.

Yet, as much as I hate conformity, there's a certain limit to marginality. No one can live like an amish in a big Metropolis. I cannot go on in Paris spitting on people who spend money, living from bread and water. I have to participate in this trend. After all, to some extent it is a form of evolution.

While partaking in it, it is knowing this that helps me remain sane, keep my head above my shoulder, and most importantly worry a whole lot less.

PS I do agree that Dbayeh-Dawra is a consumerism hell.

rahmu wrotePS I do agree that Dbayeh-Dawra is a consumerism hell.

it was turned recently into a SEXY hell ! , i find trouble keeping my eyes on the road !

Dont forget the Lingerie ads everywhere! :P
Theres was one which was written keep your eyes on the road lol!

well i was behind Phoenicia walking and it was raining like 2 weeks ago, i slide a bit but caught myself the last moment i was gonna fall then when i was looking up i saw a an ad of a woman showing her ass i think it was about creams. (this was pure Bummer)