Nowadays more and more people are running after materialistic things like cars, television and refrigerators. While there are a few benefits of this materialism, I believe the drawbacks are much more.
Admittedly, there are certain advantages of the increasing demand of consumer goods. The main advantage is that the increasing demand means increasing production and employment. Thus, the increasing demand directly boosts the economy. Another advantage is that the quality of life of people is getting better. The luxuries of yesterday like cars, refrigerators and air conditioners have become the necessities of today. There is no doubt that people are living a more comfortable life than ever before.
However, this trend has several drawbacks. Firstly, the rising demand and use of such products is leading to environmental degradation. In fact, today a major source of air pollution in the cities is the exhaust fumes from cars. Similarly, more consumer goods means more use of natural resources and more waste. Waste is also increasing as companies are using lower quality materials like plastic to maintain profit margins.
Secondly, materialism also has a negative effect on relationships as it forces people to work harder and spend less time with loved ones. In the long run, the love for materialistic things can never compete with satisfaction people achieve from relationships. Thus, most people despite being richer and having more luxuries are less happier than before. Finally, materialism is leading to crime as more and more people are resorting to unethical means like stealing to get such things. People today value owning such things much more over integrity and honesty. Thus, society’s value systems are being corrupted by this trend.
To sum up, there is no doubt that the increasing demand for materialistic things has some advantages, but the drawbacks certainly outweigh them.