consumption
We are all a victim of a terrible farce; victims of mass consumption. And, yes, I’m aware how cliche that sounds. Here we go again with the soap-box speech on the sins of greed which seem to be the lubricant of our capitalistic society. But hear me out. Even the definition of consumption has been consumed these days. It’s been chewed up, digested, and thrown up again into something unrecognizable. No longer does consumption define the things we buy and use; it defines the time, the people, the energy, and the ideas. Admit it, the Britneys of today don’t care as much about the Chanel handbags as the Britneys from ten or twenty years ago did, they are more interested in consuming likes, followers, and comments now. They are more concerned with their image based on intangibles than tangibles. Maybe if I had been born a generation earlier, I would care more about my physical life and the people around me than how many hearts this little sermon will get. Maybe I would be able to consume the care behind actions in real life instead of getting hung up on those ignored text messages. But the reality is that nowadays consumption doesn’t mean time or money spent in the “real” world. We have slowly, and unknowingly, begun the transition into a digital state of being. We are bombarded daily with articles all over our feeds on which texts to send, which emails to write, how to set up your profiles, the best photos to post... Our expanded eyes absorb and consume the electronic flickers of text until we’ve become fully-fledged psychologists on the most socially acceptable online conduct possible, all the while ignoring in-person conduct entirely, our faces glued to a screen. So our parents and our bohemian, introverted friends stare at us, wondering; “Do they even hear what I’m saying? How much of their mind is consumed in that other realm?” We start to lose them. Time passes, and they become consumed by lowered expectations. They feel satisfied with a minute conversation with a face lit up by the glow of a phone. They start to move on. We notice too late, are consumed with regret too late, and there is nothing left to be said or done. So, don’t miss out on thanking your parents properly for dinner by being too busy taking photos of the meal for your Instagram followers. Don’t lose the one that loves you to follow and swipe people who have never even heard your laugh. Don’t ignore your friends in time of need to message someone who you will never meet in your actual life. Don’t make the people who care cry for an online world of consumption, full of people who will never see you cry; never hold you when you cry. And let me tell you, once you do breakdown and once you do let that regret consume you, there won’t be any likes or follows. They want to escape, not feel what’s real. And love is the only thing that will consume you for the better.
