Minimalism Vs Consumerism: A Loud Battle Between Need And Greed

Do we really want to live a simple life?

- ANUSHREE BHATTACHARYA

We all know that we need three basic things to live a simple life; clothes, food, and shelter.

But do we seriously need only these three things? Well for a basic life we only have the necessity of these three things but for a comfortable life we must need some personal items also. But these personal items are not supposed to be luxurious. The thought of simplicity is somewhere lost in today’s time. Everyone wants to compete with each other. If one person has a luxurious item then another must have it, just to maintain their status in front of others, doesn't matter if the item is desirable for the individual or not. The reason behind this is the increasing influence of media, advertisements, and social trends that create a false idea of happiness that can only be achieved by having luxury goods and services. Media and advertising industries show us that a successful person must own expensive things, brand-ed products, and live a luxurious lifestyle. This becomes a culture of bragging through the social media platforms just like the influ-encers on Instagram, YouTube, where they post pictures or videos of their latest gadgets, trendy clothes, and luxury vacations and just by seeing that we also want to have the exact same life. This will be known as Consumerism, where people encourage others to buy more and more things, even if they don't need them. Most of the people buy expensive things not because they need them, but because they want to show them to others or just to maintain their social status. It becomes a competition now

"Who has the latest phone?"