photo by Lumosmaxima
Without God as our foundation we can be easily manipulated by our environment and our culture. I find myself carrying around my android phone with iphone envy… a true victim of marketing manipulation. Don’t judge me – I know you’ve done it. Ever caught yourself purchasing something or doing something only to realize you never wanted it in the first place… something inside you just “made you do it.”
If we think of the incredible impact marketing has on our buying behaviors – what does our cultural marketing do to our ethical behaviors? And how to do we keep grounded? I know the Sunday school kid inside you really wants to raise your hand and yell “Jesus!” right now – resist. Yes, God is how we keep grounded… but what does that look like in the day to day?
What are three things you do to keep yourself grounded?
my answer…
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Spend time with people who can talk about more then their facebook status.
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I try to stay away from celebrity news – its just too much to keep up with.
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Listen to NPR – a reminder that the world is bigger than the bubble I sometimes live in.
I am going to resist making a comment about the iPhone envy issue….
…. Ok no I’m not! It’s way better! Get it! :)
Three things that keep me grounded…. Remembering my travels and the fact that I recently lived out of a suitcase for a year and survived (and was not less happy than I am now with all the stuff I have).
Also being relatively poor & creditcardless. I know I can’t afford the stuff being shoved in my face, so I don’t foster feelings of needing them.
Lastly, regarding the ethical impact of our current culture marketing it’s values everywhere… Conviction. Feeling like crap after I do something that would be ok to my peers, but makes me ill in my heart. Its painful but it keeps me grounded.
Love u chari!
The book “Rich Christians in an Age of Poverty” has a good segment on “planned obsolescence” that relates to your post above, Charith. It’s something that affects all of us! It’s a tough one to “resist”.
More on the idea is here: http://www.economist.com/node/13354332
Planned obsolescence is a business strategy in which the obsolescence (the process of becoming obsolete—that is, unfashionable or no longer usable) of a product is planned and built into it from its conception. This is done so that in future the consumer feels a need to purchase new products and services that the manufacturer brings out as replacements for the old ones.
Hey i remember when I first learned about planned obsolescence. Super interesting concept and so totally true- things “made to break” at a certain time to keep us coming back for more, basically. Good thoughts…. Keepin us grounded Charith!
Staying grounded in a world of #marketing influence. http://t.co/EhFqp7vK #food4thought
Another awesome post, and so true. What keeps me grounded? Family, nature, and learning more about others world views.
[...] Blog up! how to stay grounded in a world of marketing influence – blog.fh.org/2012/07/2914/ @food4thehungry [...]
Everyone with an iPhone will always tell you its better. Find someone who will convince you who doesn’t have one. Then consider it.
Grounded…I love this word. It means, solid, committed, unshaken (unless your in california), and based on something stronger than everything else around you.
Interestingly enough, this is what we are as Christ Followers. Yet, this is also what we strive for as Christ Followers.
Amen.
Thanks for your thoughts Charith – love your #3 and totally agree – NPR is a great way to make sure we stay out of our personal “bubbles” and understand the greater realities of the world around us. I also love Juliana’s “remembering my travels” – I often think to the freedom from consumerism I had living in Namibia, and how little I actually needed to survive and be happy – after I reflect on this I ask myself – ok, so do I really need this new pair of pants, etc. etc. Another thing that helps me stay grounded I have learned (sometimes begrudgingly ;) from my husband Caleb, who is a very frugal guy – that is the practice of delayed gratification. Most all things I want to buy, I really don’t need, and if I force myself to wait and budget for the purchase I will realize I really don’t want/need it, or I want it enough to plan and budget and cut costs in other areas in order to afford it. With that said – living in the US with constant ads and pressure to buy the next best thing does not make it easy to stay grounded, thanks for the reminder to keep at it!