Consumer Capitalism: How profitable is discontent?

As you walk through any shop or turn on your TV, it is hard to miss the preponderance of products that are out there to make money through us not feeling good enough. The excessive amount of, dare I say it, pointless products on the market, represent a very morbid truth - feelings of sadness are very profitable. Since the 1970's, one of the most notable outcomes of our 'selfish capitalism' ideology has been the significant rise in those suffering from mental illnesses.

This is not entirely the fault of glaring economic inequalities, but is also down to materialism and the idea of possessions dictating your worth.

Does sadness equate to economic growth?

It seems that we live in a Society where consumerism feeds the ever-growing issue of people feeling inadequate. We have a certain image thrust upon us and are then forced into attempting, at any cost, to fit it. You only have to log onto social media to see certain brands being flaunted which, for the most part, are extremely expensive. When such high expectations are being placed on us to afford these brands, it is easy to see why citizens of these capitalist nations are twice as likely to suffer from mental illnesses compared with those in mainland Western Europe.

Simply put, it seems that misery equates to economic growth. 

A dangerous cycle

I will admit that I myself often get sucked into such marketing ploys and find myself spending money I don't have simply to present myself in a certain way. These pressures are exhausting and are exactly what our economy seems to thrive off. We become trapped in a somewhat morbid cycle of feelings of discontent which make us work harder, only to face further dissatisfaction as we do not see the benefits and rewards for our hard work trickling down. 

The cycle of consumerism is a dangerous one and escaping it is certainly not easy. This mentality is something that has become engrained within our culture, however, it is vital that we become more aware of capitalist marketing ploys and attempt to not be as susceptible to them in order to improve our mental well being.