Try mSpy Phone Tracker for Your Kid's Safety
Click on a word and I’ll read it
Or select some text and then click on play.
Consumerism uses TV as the great hypnotiser to convince people that we need to buy more and more. But, do we need it?
Today we have a higher standard of living, but a lower quality of life. In other words, we have more money but enjoy life less; we have more things but less time to live and enjoy it. Why? Easy, we're too busy and stressed making money, too much pressure and competence. But why do we devote most of our time and energies on making money? because TV commercials and advertisements everywhere are convincing us that we need lots and lots of different things to be happy. So we work hard to have the money to pay for all those things, because we want to be happy. But then we can't be happy because in our life there's no time to love, relax, be with others and enjoy all the things we have. What if the true richness is not money, but time? Time to enjoy life, not time to produce. We should give a completely new meaning to the phrase "Time is gold".
That's the big lie of consumerism. We don't need to buy things to be happy. Happiness is something we miss while we're so busy making money. If you want to be happy look for love, not money... and love is free, and there's plenty for us all.
Do I need it?
Or just want it?
Who convinced me that I need it
And why do I want it?
Will it make my world a better place
Or will it end up taking up landfill space?
Oh, do I need it?
Or just want it?
Those TV commercials are telling me
I need to buy lots more,
but I can’t figure out what I’d need
those fifteen cell phones for…
Our dining suite is older than me,
our furniture doesn’t blend,
but I can’t throw out stuff that’s good
just because of the latest trend
Do I need it?
Or just want it?
Who convinced me that I need it
And why do I want it?
Will it make my world a better place
Or will it end up taking up landfill space?
Oh, do I need it?
Or just want it?
Those convenient plastic shopping bags
are fluttering in the trees,
so I’ve started to use my old cloth bags
to move my groceries…
Spring water sold in plastic bottles
Is really quite the fad
But water from my tap tastes just as good
And using less Polyethylene Terephtalate isn’t bad
Do I need it?
Or just want it?
Who convinced me that I need it
And why do I want it?
Will it make my world a better place
Or will it end up taking up landfill space?
Oh, do I need it?
Or just want it?
I’ll admit that I’m a Tim Horton’s junkie
Had my share of those disposable cups
But now I take my travel mug along
And I ask them to fill ‘er up…
How many books in my personal library
sit there still unread?
My life would be less cluttered if
I used my library card instead
Do I need it?
Or just want it?
Who convinced me that I need it
And why do I want it?
Will it make my world a better place
Or will it end up taking up landfill space?
Oh, do I need it?
Or just want it?
How many computers, TV's and stereos
does one family really need?
It’s time I learned to live with just enough
instead of giving in to greed…
A wardrobe from the Sally Ann
can be as good as buying new.
That way I’m not creating consumer demand
and there’s money in my pocket, too
Do I need it?
Or just want it?
Who convinced me that I need it
And why do I want it?
Will it make my world a better place
Or will it end up taking up landfill space?
Oh, do I need it?
Or just want it?
Our lives are filled with so much stuff
This song could go on and on
But if we think before we buy
I’d be singing half as long.
So I’m not gonna buy things on a whim
I’m gonna think things through
If I can live with less, I’ll reduce my stress
And lighten my workload, too…
If I don’t need it,
I don’t want it.
No one convinced me that I need it, So I won’t buy it.
Gonna help my planet get “out of the woods”
By refusing to use up so many goods
‘Cause I don’t need so much stuff,
And I don’t want it.
I don’t need so much stuff
And I don’t want it, ohhh no!
TAKING UP= Occupying, consuming.
LANDFILL= An area of land where rubbish is thrown.
FIGURE OUT= Understand.
DINING SUITE= A group of a table and chairs used for having dinner (see picture)
FURNITURE= /fɜ:nɪtʃə*/
OUR FURNITURE DOESN'T BLEND= Combine together or mix nicely. To create a harmonious effect.
TREND= Current style; vogue. Present fashion.
CONVENIENT= Suited or favourable to one's comfort, purpose, or needs. Easy to reach, accessible. Close at hand, near.
FLUTTERING= To flutter is to vibrate or beat rapidly or erratically, for example, like a flag or a plastic bag beaten by the wind.
GROCERIES= The food you buy in a shop.
SPRING= A natural fountain. Usually the place where a river or stream is born.
FAD= A fashion that is taken up with great enthusiasm for a brief period of time; a craze.
TAP= A valve we have at home to regulate the delivery of water. For example, if you are in the bathroom, you open the tap and water comes out into the bath. You close the tap and water flow stops. In AmE (USA) it is called FAUCET /fɔ:set/ but in Canada they also use the British word.
TIM HORTON= A famous Canadian hockey player, founder of Canada's larges restaurant chain serving fast food.
JUNKIE= A drug addict (esp. for heroine). But in this context, "a Tim Horton's junkie" means a person who is addicted to the fast food they serve at Tim Horton's restaurants.
DISPOSABLE= Something that is used and then thrown away.
CUP= A disposable glass, usually made of plastic or paper. You use them and then throw them away. (see picture)
(I) HAD MY SHARE OF THOSE DISPOSABLE CUPS= I have consumed a lot of disposable cups.
MUG= A kind of tall cup with a handle. (see picture)
I TAKE MY TRAVEL MUG ALONG= I take it with me.
I ASK THEM TO FILL 'ER UP= 'ER= her, muy mug (a thing cannot be feminine, but this is colloquial English and using him or her shows you have love feelings for that thing, in which case we usually use the feminine). To fill up is to fill it to the top.
CLUTTERED= Confused, disordered.
LIBRARY CARD= A card you can use to borrow books from a library.
IT'S TIME I LEARNED= The phrase "it's time" is followed by the past, but it has a present meaning:
- It's time we started = We should start now.
- It's time you told me everything = This is the moment you should tell me everything.
INSTEAD OF GIVING IN= After prepositions and conjunctions we use –ing. "To give in" means to surrender.
GREED= An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth.
SALLY ANN= A colloquial way to refer to the Salvation Army, which is a Christian group well known for its evangelical, social and charitable work.
STUFF= (coll.) things.
GO ON= Continue. "Go on and on" = continue forever.
ON A WHIM= Compulsively. A whim is a sudden or capricious idea; a fancy. A sudden impulse.
THINK THINGS THROUGH= Think things carefully.
LIGHTEN= Reduce, make lighter.
WORKLOAD= The amount of work.
GET OUT OF THE WOODS= Abandon confusion and become safe.
USE UP= Consume totally, until it's finished.
If you want to learn more about the contradictions of consumerism watch this video:
Official → Cool
