Social Issues,SocietyJUL 24, 2026

91 Brutal Examples Of Consumerism To Make You Rethink Your Buying Habits (New Pics)

Greta Jaruševičiūtė, Miguel Ordoñez and Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Consumerism in itself isn’t inherently bad. It promotes economic growth, creates jobs, and fosters innovation. But given how out of hand it has become in recent years, many would argue that it is a double-edged sword.

Among those who have grown fed up are members of the Anticonsumption subreddit. Day in and day out, they call out the worsening state of materialism in today’s society. And if you scroll through the page, you may see how depressing it has become.

Here are some of the posts from the community that perfectly capture how problematic consumerism has become.

#41 I Hate It Here

An Amazon Prime bag with the text Without you, Im empty inside, reflecting on consumerism.

Useamelonballer

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17points

#42 I Hate How Normalised This Is :(

A screenshot of text messages discussing dishwashing, highlighting aspects of consumerism and price difference.

bitch_is_cray_cray

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16points

#43 Single Use Children Novelty Waste Is The Worse

Rows of Good2Grow drinks with character tops in a store aisle, a prime example of consumerism and 400% price difference.

MemoryTM

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16points

#44 The 4.4 Trillion Dollar Company Needs Another Revenue Source

An Apple Ads screen showing how maps may display local ads, highlighting consumerism.

Outrageous-Bass-3226

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16points

#45 We’re Expected To Ditch Plastic Straws But This Is Somehow Okay?

A container of Starbucks premium soluble coffee mini cups, showcasing consumerism in coffee products.

PublicTranslator5902

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16points

#46 Quite A Good Sentiment About Gratitude. Our Society Always Pushes Us To Want More

An illustration of a woman holding a frame with text, a visual commentary on insulting consumerism and perspective.

Bellybutton_fluffjar

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15points

#47 My Parents Always Send A Toy Version When They Can’t Get The Actual Item In Time For My Birthday…

A boxed toy tool set with a toy trimmer, saw, and safety goggles, highlighting the price difference and consumerism.

I have no kids nor children in my life. I have no use for the plastic versions. It’s “cute” symbolism, I guess, but it’s damn wasteful and gives me something else to have to deal with…

JDMiller95

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15points

#48 If It Ain't Food Or A Candle Dont Slap Food Scents

A packet of DUDE WIPES XL, a consumerism product for men infused with coffee.

AlwaysBlaze_

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14points

#49 Have You Stopped Flying Yet?

A split image showing a woman in Bali and a man in Uganda, highlighting the carbon footprint and consumerism.

mushroomsarefriends

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14points

#50 Home Cooking Because Fast Food Prices Are Straight Up Out Of Control

A hand holding a burrito cut in half, representing the consumerism culture and food prices.

Alextricity

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14points

#51 The Prices Go Up, And The Cereal Boxes Get Thinner. Duds For Scale

Breakfast cereals and Milk Duds showcase a 400% price difference and insulting consumerism in product packaging.

JohnnyRelentless

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14points

#52 Single Use Phone Chargers

A display box of disposable phone chargers, emphasizing wasteful consumerism and single-use products.

Such_Illustrator_226

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13points

#53 No You Don’t Understand, Consumerism Used To Be Wholesome Chungus!

A Twitter post detailing past consumerism offerings, like all-day McDonald's breakfast, highlighting changes.

k--Gonzo

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13points

#54 8645 Candles Lit Yesterday. I Can't Get Over The Candle Waste

A grand building staircase adorned with hundreds of lit candles, illustrating a large-scale event related to consumerism.

This was from an anti-abortion protest, but let's not get into cause. What do you think about waste from protests, can you excuse it? Of course it's easy to condemn if the cause isn't something one agrees on, but I feel like the most impactful ones are those where it's the people that show up in mass to show their support. Not the ones where organizers pay big bucks for single-use junk with just a few supporters hanging around.

bathya

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12points

#55 3 Tons Of Flooring Offcuts Headed To Landfill

A pile of wooden planks, some bound with blue tape, representing the surprising price difference in consumerism.

Surely in this modern world of Robots, 'aware' computers & self-driving cars, we can think of better use for 3 tons of wood offcuts, than burying it?
This is from a flooring company, who do this every couple of weeks (or more); which equates to a minimum of 78 tons a year, from a single small business, with only a handful of staff.
Imagine the scale of waste worldwide!

Dollbeau

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12points