Modern Lifestyle
Many people today are increasingly influenced to directly or indirectly adopt the lifestyle they see from and learn about in the media, fashion houses, celebrities, trendy friends, in a relentless effort to look modern, fashionable, socially-acceptable, and happy.
It’s widely understood that an individual lifestyle is a composite reflection of his/her inner being on his/her outer look. This encompasses his/her thinking, attitude, values, beliefs, likes and dislikes, aspirations, associations, family, group, friends, educational level, habits, and relationships.
The lifestyle a person lives is made up of the interaction with these variables for the best possible outcomes. This sounds logical for most people. A typical person, especially today, makes his/her desired goals in life reflect on his/her way of life-and may thinks it’s the next best thing to do. When it receives acceptance form others it reinforces the person’s perception of oneself to keep on ‘the reinforced’ behaviours. Your way of life, your behaviour included, translates itself into a consumer buying behaviour. Your lifestyle means the types of products and a service you have around or want to have that satisfies your needs and aspirations.
Can you think of a lifestyle with no product or service coming to mind? Indeed business firms who work in this industry have been striving to be on top of your buying list. The go farther in that trying to convince you to adopt their product concept-you as a sort of moving ad, excuse the term. The longest sought goal for them is to make you ‘loyal’ to the producer’s offering and with some other ‘loyal’ consumers they ensure the sales go on to keep them on par with competition. Ask yourself how many times you have bought the wrong product or service (embarrassing hair cut, washing machine that sucked, a new car that broke later, a beauty cream that didn’t work, fat loss belt that was a lie, …and many others). How many times you were ripped off? How many times sellers forced their product/service onto you leading you to buy something you didn’t need. Worse if the product many buy is has serious health effects. Some well known example are: Soft drinks and cigarrets.
In 2006 a Federal judge ruled that the American tobacco companies were liable for hiding the dangers of smoking to the public as the reporter for ABC news called it ‘a decade long conspiracy’. The tobacco companies want blind eyed consumers buy their product? Do you call this justified mockery? Good business? I leave the answer to you.
The cases for soft drinks or cigarettes are just two of the many daily business deceptions made by ‘modern’ business bought by ‘modern’ consumers-other members of the society and the environment just bear the consequences in the case of smoking polluted air and passive smoking.
Great number of products are being introduced into the market almost everyday. As you struggle to buy those products and services that make your life a better one , alot of your money goes to the seller's account whether you are satisfied or not.The role of the sales persons has plays a role in making you buy the product he/she sells (not necessarily the one that works for you)! On the same foot the role of opinion leaders, who talk positively or negatively about a product or service to make others believe it works or not, influences your buying decision through positive or negative word-of-mouth. While some of these latter people may be just consumers, friends, colleagues or family members who have no real interest in in giving you their opinion or personal experience there are others who maybe company reps and may have vested interest in the product/service they brag about.
Then what? Follow the herd? Question not? Give less attention? Have little time for? Careless about? Do we want to lead the same suspicious lifestyle that sellers want us to have (you guessed it to buy what they are offering). I let you make the choice but this time with correct information and rewarding ways.
