Collecting Vs. Consuming: How To Tell What Behaviours You're Participating In

If you’ve signed into any social media platform that offers short form content lately, you’ve most definitely have seen the rise of consumerism. From unrealistic personal vanity drawer restocks, to an avalanche of plastic wrapped haul content, the encouragement for unnecessary purchases is rampant. Consumerism is defined by buying something for the sake of buying. The economic philosopher John Maynard Keynes believed that consumerism was great for the economy because it encourages growth and supplies consumers with a diverse amount of goods and services. While this all sounds dandy, it should be said that consumerism cannot happen without some form of materialistic mindset. Materialism can lead to excessive waste going into fragile ecosystems and anxiousness over missing out on “the hottest new thing”. For example the whole fidget spinner trend in the mid 2010’s caused a lot of people to buy the toy to a ridiculous extent because they wanted to be cool and owning a huge proportion of the cool thing is a status symbol. Now only 10 years later most fidget spinners are sitting in a landfill, untouched on a shelf in Goodwill, or collecting dust in a storage room. We are seeing these patterns now more than ever with dolls known as Labubus, these little modern day badges of prestige are being attached onto every influencers’ bag and flaunted in blind box opening videos. Now you may be thinking that people are simply getting into collecting these dolls, while I argue that this is not the case. Collecting is to show your admiration for something by accumulating either the thing or items related to the thing and taking the time and care to display and preserve the thing for a long period of time. For example, you may see collectors of vintage clothing, action figures, rocks from hiking trails, or comics. The act of collecting is seen across various species other than humans such as birds, crabs, wasps, and even larvae. Additionally, the first ever documented collection was found to be from the third millennium B.C., so it is safe to say humans have been collecting before John Maynard Keynes was even born. Collecting is also the reason why we have so many museums, from celebrity wax figures to historic relics; they’re all results of starting a collection. Now while both consuming and collecting both have their similarities, it’s important to think of your reasoning behind your actions and if they are contributing to wasteful habits or an innate desire for having a shiny thing in your possession. 

Vintage Garfield Mcdonalds Toys That My Mom Passed Down To Me

What Are Your Spending Habits Like?

Before handing over your preferred method of payment for your trinket, it’s important to think about why you are buying it. Is this something that you already have at home? Is this something you’ve genuinely thought about that will make you happy? Or is this a spring of the moment type of buy that you realistically will get rid of in a couple months? It’s important to recognize when you’re buying something that will provide you short term joy vs. long term happiness. Because a lot of short term joy purchases can add up in the long run. Of course it’s not a bad thing to buy something that gives you short term joy, it’s why you are buying it that matters. Like buying a cookie after you worked hard on something can help you stay motivated to do more difficult tasks. Things that supply long term happiness can be something like choosing to add another item to your collection that you’ve been thinking about for a long time. When you buy something that you plan to keep for a long time, you generate less waste from what would be a bunch of short term purchases that get thrown out.

Why Do You Want It?

Too often people will go out of their way to get something simply because they saw a few videos talking about the thing. When starting a collection try to think of your “why” behind it. Is this something that relates back to your childhood? Maybe it’s a piece of media that got you through a tough time, or it could be something that has brought you joy for a while now. A collection should be something that you will hold on to for a long period of time because it’s a symbol of your identity. You may grow out of interest for the thing you are collecting, which is fine, it’s just good to put thought into what you are collecting and if your collection would be sustained before going out and obtaining all the stuff.

Do You Like It Because You Like It, Or Because Others Like It?

If you were the only person who liked and cared about the thing would you still collect it? Consumerism often thrives off the human need for connection, so when a bunch of people show interest in one thing, everyone else wants an “in” with the group. Because of this it can be a good sign that you’re more into the actual part of collecting when the thing you collect is not well known. This is not to say that people are consumerist if they like popular things, but when you are willing to be a “geek” about the topic it shows that you aren’t just liking something to stick with the crowd.

What Is The Community Like?

Getting a feel for how the community surrounding the thing acts can be good for identifying what your actions about the thing come off as. If the community is filled with people passionately talking about their love for the thing and trying to help others grow their collection through researching and trade, then it can be a good example of a community that values collection. While if it’s mostly filled with bragging and 1-uping on what new thing they just got, it can be a bad sign. Of course any community can have toxic collectors or not but if there’s more of a push for the newest coolest thing it can easily create anxiety for its members. If you feel like the actions done in your community do not reflect how you feel towards the thing, then try to be the one to advocate for a sympathetic community and interact with others the way you want to see people connecting about the thing.

Final Thoughts

Consumerism naturally fosters selfishness and to buy in your own interest, carrying these harmful manners through your love for a thing can dull not only your relationship with the thing, but also your personal connections, ability to identify personal taste and wallet. Collecting is a human expression of love and appreciation for a piece of life. Whether this be a story, object, or every known fact about the thing. Thinking about your reasonings behind your actions and their intended outcomes can help you be your ideal self, because you are being mindful of how you impact the world around you. So next time you toy around with the idea of collecting something, maybe put your phone away and think about it for a minute.