Definition: Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the purchase of goods and services in ever-greater amounts.

* Marisela Contreras Acua

Counterargument: It is probably impossible for people to enjoy their daily life so wonderfully now, if they live without consuming.

1 Argument: Consumerism affects negatively in peoples happiness.

The study, conducted at Northwestern University, shows that as people acquire more wealth and increasingly buy more things, they get more depressed and less social.

Materialists think that having these things is going to change their lives in every possible way you can think of," says the psychologist Marsha Richins.

In Kasser's own book, "The High Price of Materialism: When people organize their lives around extrinsic goals such as product acquisition, they report greater unhappiness in relationships, poorer moods and more psychological problems.

 Counterargument: women and men feel more secure by consuming beautys products.

2 Argument : Consumerism creates a challenge for women and men to look more beautiful.

 Magazines of the early 21st century offer a vast variety of beauty products and editorial tips on how to achieve perfection and a similar appearance to that of celebrities.
Not only have advertisers learned to identify specific products that appeal to men and women, but they have also found that the "want" of the consumer can be turned into a "need" for the advertised product. Many of the beauty product companies advertise their products as a "need" which ultimately appeals to a vast majority of women.

Counterargument: Consumerism is a personal option, which means it is not part of everyone's identity.

3 Argument : Consumerism pushes us to create a fake identity.

 Identities are now marketable. They are created according to commercial appeal, rather than being rationally discovered. Whereas early categories were set up to limit and control what was perceived as having already been there, modern trend-setters prepackage identities. By Michel Foucault.

Conclusion
Consumerism has a negative effect in peoples life. It promotes that people feel less happy, and moreover, they can be depressed due to consuming or just being exposed to the words buy and money. Besides, it affects in peoples identity, giving them a prepackage identity. Therefore, it is important to know to what extent we are consuming, if it is helping us or affecting us.