Google Dictionary defines perceived obsolescence as the art of making products that go out of fashion or date or are not in style, so you buy more, slightly different ones, for example the fashion industry (or electronics, household items, etc.) According to the video perceived obsolescence convinces us to throw away stuff that is still perfectly useful by changing the way that it looks.
In the past few years as my eyes have been opened more towards the third world and the passion that I have to serve them financially and in person upon graduation. My spending habits are still not where I would like them to be but this video was a great reminder of the bigger picture. (And a great reminder of why I should not be complaining about what I do have.) I have definitely caught myself purchasing a new cell phone even though my current one isn’t broke and buying one that is above my price range simply because of all the bells and whistles. In terms of clothing or fashion, I have 29 pairs of shoes. That is nearly a different pair for every day of the month! And yet just yesterday I found myself thinking about buying yet another pair while millions do not even have a single pair of shoes.
According to the World Wealth Calculator in making $23,288 a year* I am “in the wealthiest 9.0% of people in the world. There are 6,008,213,213 (more than 6.0 billion) people less wealthy than you. You are 30 times wealthier than a billion people. (A billion people earn less than $762 a year). And yet I complain that I don’t have enough or waste money on items I don’t need or paying interest on things that I do purchase because I use credit cards. Honestly my own hypocrisy is disgusting to me right now.
The fact that we are one twentieth of the world’s population but use nearly 1/3 of the resources and contribute to nearly 1/3 of the world’s waste is an astronomical problem. No wonder we have third world countries in which death due to disease, malnutrition, poor drinking water, etc. We are leaving 95% of the world to live off of just over 2/3 of the world’s resources! And yet we don’t see the need to help others and to give because we don’t have enough ourselves. My salary may be considered on the low end of the scale at just over $23,000 a year in America – however in terms of the world I’m 30 times richer than more than a billion people. I think that those amounts directly correlate with that amount of waste created and the amount of resources that we use. Essentially these numbers show that in America we are wasteful and selfish in that we are using up far more than we need.
By the way... If you make just $2,000 a year (that is not a typo I really meant to put two-thousand dollars) you are in the wealthiest 55.5% of people in the world. There are 2,939,357,142 (more than 2.9 billion) people less wealthy than you. You are 2 times wealthier than a billion people. Seriously! Two Thousand Fricken Dollars and you are TWO TIMES WEALTHIER THAN A BILLION PEOPLE!!!
Use the following tool below to see where you fall in terms of world wealth... You will be shockingly surprised...
A couple years ago I was a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the honors society for two year colleges. I helped run a session at a honors convention about The Story of Stuff.
ReplyDeleteI still link people to the video to show how our consumption is ruining our planet. We don't realize that our actions hold a great impact. Sure, corporations are definitely harming our planet, but we as citizens are a part of the process.
I loved your discussion about third world countries. We don't realize how fortune we are in the United States. We might complain, but we have roofs over our head and enough supplies to survive. As you said, many people in the world can't afford a pair of shoes. I wish more people were aware of these issues. We're luckier than most of the world, so we should appreciate what we have and support those who need assistance.
you said it, we are def. luckier than most! I know that you are a student along with your work, and I think you are doing a lot with your salary, and it should pay off!
ReplyDeleteOh, the United States. We are so focused on having EVERYTHING that we cannot be happy with what we have. I think this idea starts for a lot of people with weddings. You have to have the Kim Kardashian wedding and you spend $60,000 on a single day. Then you purchase a home that you can't afford - because it needs to go along with the huge wedding.
ReplyDeleteWe live lifestyles we can't afford and then we kick and scream when we don't get something. You are right, we don't take the time to think about how our life compares to the other 99% of the world.
I live in a crappy house - it has snakes living in it with me. I drive an old car - but we have no car payments. I make do with what I have and I try very hard to stay satisfied with that, but some days I still forget that I am wealthy.
Thank you for posting this. I think we all forget how lucky we are--and using hard numbers can really help to put things into perspective for a lot of people.
ReplyDeleteReality check! Thank you for this thought-provoking post. And good for you for your passion to help our third world population.
ReplyDeleteyou never really think about how may people dont make as much money as you. Like you said, even 2000 dollars makes you wealthier than most. For some reason this makes me think of the Occupy WallStreet people. Someone should show them this tool and then their percentages would be switched around. Yeah a lot more people in the world make more than 2000 dollars but then, obviously,a lot lot more people dont. If you think about it its really the 1% against the 99%. This knowledge would really put a hole in their sail. So many people never stop to consider how lucky and wealthy they are, even if they cant afford large homes, fast cars, and luxurious clothes. There are still people out there that can't even afford food for their children, or even afford a house to cover their heads. It's really sad to think about that people are out protesting when really there just being selfish and ignoring what they are already blessed with.
ReplyDeleteThis is truth. We as average, middle-class Americans are blessed with wealth that is unfathomable to most of the world. And then there are those who are unfathomably wealthy when compared to us average, middle-class Americans. The thing is though, to be a middle-class citizen in America, you have to take out loans, go to college, take on a mortgage, and still provide food and clothing for your family. So youre down a lot just getting started on that $23,000 a year. When you are paying off loans and mortgages and bills, this money does not go far at all. Now, you still have a house and food and clothes, but what if you lose your job? Then you are screwed. Student loans dont go away. You can get out of a mortgage with bankruptcy but then youre out of a house. Thats what Occupy Wall Street is about. If the underclass can rise up in this country, maybe eventually the underclass can rise up all around the world, returning the power to the people rather than a very very tiny percentage of individuals at the top.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting post....I realized the United States had a consumption problem, but this really puts things in a tangible way. Over the past few years, I have found myself being less hungry for materialistic goods. This makes me want to cut back even more to help the people that really need what I don't.
ReplyDeleteI hope you go into chipping away at this problem after graduation!