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Consumerism has become one of the central issues of modern society, and it shapes the way we live, work and make decisions. In this comment,I want to discuss to what extent consumerism is harmful for both individuals and society. In my opinion, consumerism is damaging to a large extent because it encourages unnecessary consumption and leads to long-term social and environmental problems.

The video we watched in class highlights several important facts that show how serious the situation is. For example, the world population has more than doubled since the 1970s, while consumption has increased even faster. This means society is using far more resources than the planet can regenerate, which leads to environmental destruction, rising CO₂ emissions and global inequality. Another key point from the video is that half of the world’s population is under 28. This is extremely relevant because billions of young people will continue to consume for decades, putting even more pressure on food supplies, energy systems and ecosystems.
From my own perspective, consumerism harms society by creating unrealistic expectations, promoting short-term satisfaction and encouraging waste. It also divides people into those who can afford constant buying and those who cannot, which increases social tensions. Overall, consumerism creates a lifestyle that is neither sustainable nor fair.

To sum up, consumerism is harmful for both individuals and society because it encourages overconsumption, damages the environment and increases inequality. In the future, we must rethink our habits and make more conscious choices to protect our planet and ensure a fairer society.

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To what extent is consumerism harmful for individuals and society?

Consumerism is highly harmful for both individuals and society, as it drives unsustainable behaviour and puts extreme pressure on the planet’s limited resources. The video explains that humanity is already in a state of “global overshoot”, meaning our demand is greater than what nature can regenerate. This problem is intensified by the fact that around 50 million people join the global middle class each year, copying the high-consumption lifestyle of developed countries.

One shocking example is that the grain needed to fill an SUV tank with ethanol could feed one person for an entire year. On an individual level, consumerism creates constant pressure to buy more, leading to stress, debt and a distorted sense of happiness. On a societal level, it contributes to food shortages, climate change, and political instability.

To protect our future, we must reduce unnecessary consumption and choose more sustainable lifestyles now.

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Overpopulation & Consumption

Consumerism is highly harmful for individuals and society because it drives unsustainable pressure on the planet. The text shows that human consumption has no natural limit, as people can decide how much they buy, own, and use. At the same time, population growth increases global demand for food, land, and water. We have already reached global overshoot, meaning humanity consumes more resources than nature can regenerate. Additionally, around 50 million people join the middle class

every year and embrace Western consumption habits, which significantly raises energy and food demand. The text also warns that rising food prices, unemployment, and competition over limited resources can lead to social unrest. Overall, consumerism contributes to environmental destruction and global instability. Therefore, we must reduce unnecessary

consumption and rethink our lifestyle to protect future generations

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Consumerism is harmful to a very large extent, because according to the script, human consumption has no natural limit, people continually decide how big their houses are, how many clothes they buy, and how much they use. At the same time, we have reached global overshoot, meaning our demand for resources is larger than what nature can regenerate. The script also highlights that we are adding about 50 million new people to the middle class each year, many of them copying the unsustainable lifestyle of developed countries. In addition, more than half of the world population is under 28, and as they reach reproductive age and move up the food chain, global demand for grain, livestock, and land will increase sharply. These developments put extreme pressure on agriculture, raise food prices, and lead to instability. Therefore, consumerism is harmful to a very great extent.

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Consumerism is very harmful for both individuals and society and the pitch makes this more clear. For individuals, constant buying creates pressure to always have the newest items, which leads to stress, insecurity and very short lived happiness. People are taught to think that “new” means “better”, even if the joy fades almost instantly, leaving them wanting more. For society, the harm is even more serious. Fast fashion is one of the biggest sources of waste in the world. Every single second the planet throws away the amount of one full garbage truck of clothes. This creates huge mountains of textile waste that poison land, water, and air.

Fast fashion also uses extreme amounts of water and energy and many workers in the industry face unfair pay and unsafe conditions. This means that consumerism damages the environment, harms people and keep consumers in an unhealthy cycle of overbuying. True value comes from re using, repairing,and reducing consumption.