Consumerism X Creativity

The article " Is Consumerism killing our creativity? " written by Jocelyn K. Glei, illustrates how the culture of a consumerist society is affecting the development of people's brains and their creativity today. The consumerist impulse stimulates the same part of the brain that fires when men are going to have a great idea. People have a desire to search, the " wanting, hunting, getting instincts " that are being filled not by ideas, but by shopping. As the article says, the consumerism is being an addictive substitute for the stimulation of creative activity, but they don't provide the same rewards. "Once you get that new thing, you think, you’ll have a superior means to complete your work", but it is not true. Furthermore, the hardship plays an important role when the subject is creativity - adults that grew up with hardship are more flexible, consequently, they are more creative. 

     The most important point that stimulates the society to buy is the world around them: the TV, the neighbors, the media all the time telling people that they will just be fine if they buy more and more. The media controllers know how to work with individual's minds, the visual effects and the right words to say in every advertisement, to stimulate people to buy. Sometimes their techniques are explicit, other times, they deal with our subconscious, and they have the power to make them think that to buy more and more is necessary to have a better life. Therefore, this culture of buying every time and having BIG things, BIG cars, BIG houses, BIG portions of food is spread, and it is hard for a person to stop being consumerist because he would not fit very well in this society where his value depends on what he has. People are filling the `search` space in their minds with the seeking of buying, because it is less work, it is easier than using the brain to be creative. But their results are more important: when a person buy something, in some months this product will not have the same value, and he will have to buy another evolved kind of that product that is new at the market. If the person spends more time using his brain to be creative (creating and thinking about new ideas for whatever in his life), the results are more valuable, and the most important: no one can steal it. No one can steal the knowledge. It is true that an individual in this society usually can just find his identity if he buys certain products; but the media that can control people's thoughts is not the only one blamed: they can interfere in their ideas, but cannot buy for them.