By consumption is known the result of consuming (verb used when making use of a good or service, or when looking for a synonym of spending). It is possible, for example, to consume food or other products of short life or duration. For example: “Excessive consumption of salt has negative consequences on health”, “The doctor recommended the consumption of vegetables and fruits to lower my cholesterol level. “
It should be noted that the act of consuming can also be referred to an energy expenditure : “This stove is low consumption, so I assure you that you will be happy when you receive your next electricity bill”, “They gave me an air conditioning but it consumes a lot of energy and I’m thinking of giving it back ”.
Consumption, on the other hand, can be linked to drug intake : “It is very common to see young people smoking marijuana in this square, even when their use is punishable by law”, “The authorities must do something to combat drug use. excessive alcohol in the bars of the city ”.
From the framework of the economy, consumption consists of the final phase of the economic cycle since it takes place when the product or service generates some type of profit or utility for the individual (that is, the final consumer). Products can be destroyed or transformed in the act of consumption.
Another fact to take into account is that it is possible to distinguish between private consumption (the value of purchases of products and contracting of services made by families and private companies) and public consumption (purchases and expenditures by the State).
Consumption is part of an economic circle : human beings produce to consume and consume in order to continue producing. The problem, however, is that most of us do not produce, but rather consume ; For this, we need to be part of a system that normalizes us and assigns us a role, which we must assume to keep the planet running. If we all grew vegetables and fruits for our own food, and took charge of transforming solar energy into a resource to light and heat our homes, we would be closer to understanding the concept of freedom, even if we continue to watch television and use mobile phones.
Finally, it is known as consumerism, unnecessary or exaggerated consumption, which includes the use of goods and services that are not essential. Consumerists are often victims of advertising campaigns, which encourage them to buy through manipulation techniques that are constantly studied and perfected to convey the need to have a certain product, even when this is not true. It is very difficult to stand up to today’s world and assure from the rooftops that “I am not a consumerist”, in this age in which most human beings depend on the Internet and the endless list of devices that allow us to navigate its seas of trends Forced and idle byte packets.
The term consumerist is often used as a synonym for compulsive buyer, although there are certain differences, both in the reasons and in the consequences. In principle, some consider that the compulsive shopper has a mental pathology, and that he tries to fill some kind of “emotional void” through shopping, while consumerism is a lifestyle typical of a weak-tempered person, who does not allow himself be herself and takes refuge in the role that society requires her to occupy. It is very likely that a compulsive buyer puts his economy at risk by letting himself be carried away by that imperative need to purchase a product that until before the transaction he did not know and that when he came across it, he made it an indispensable object for his own existence. Consumers, on the other hand, tend to be characterized by working and saving to indulge themselves. It should be noted that, however, none of them achieves full satisfaction.
