Consumerism Invading

There is a lot to say about consumerism in any field of life, frankly, but it has always been interesting to me how consumerism appears in a line of work that requires solving problems and creating things. Isn’t such work in essence the very opposite of consumerism?

I’ll briefly go over what I mean by consumerism, before I tackle the this particular case in modern tech development. A big part of people’s identities is taken up by what the consume: their favorite music, movies, festivities, TV shows, collecting things (like watches, exotic objects etc.) – all the types of activities that are mostly passive. The value of such activities are the products themselves. I’m not trying to give a moral speech to encourage people to partake in more creative and active hobbies like music composition or building houses. I’m simply making an observation. Most of us are too tired from spinning cogs in corporate machines to do such things, and since we want to talk to people about topics outside our jobs, we settle on consumed products. What I have noticed is that consumerism doesn’t limit itself to leisure. In fact, tools and commodities have become consumer products. It’s enough to look at any tech influencer and you’ll see all of their content is more about what they use and less about what they do.

I don’t really watch YouTube that much these days, and it’s precisely because I’m tired of consumerism:

• I like playing guitar, so instead of getting videos about dissecting techniques of my favorite guitarists, I get videos about guitar gear reviews.
• I like programming, so instead of getting videos about design principles and recreational programming sessions, I get videos about new and latest frameworks, UI libraries and LLM apps.
• I like camping and foraging, so I get videos about EDC tools and camping equipment reviews.

It feels like every time I sit down to take a break and do something fun, I end up taking a shopping trip. So how come, that even when I am working, it’s the same experience?

During work, at least three times a week I have meetings about new AI tools that we developers are encouraged to use in our everyday work. Don’t get me wrong, I use some AI tools, which are mildly convenient, but I’m told they are going to change my life. Every time I see someone start a new project, I don’t see them designing an architecture for it, I see them debating what latest and hottest tech stacks and UI libraries they should use. Instead of engaging in solving a problem, we are taking a shopping trip at a imaginary digital tech store, picking up and comparing different products, their prices and specifications. When I see a brand new piece of technology that I might find useful, its marketing doesn’t tell me what it does, it tells me what it has: “This note taking-app is built with React Native for maximum reactivity and TailwindCSS for sleek visuals!, This phone has integrated AI chatbot!”. So somehow even the practical value of a piece of software sometimes falls behind the shadow of the consumer buzzwords: products and micro-products that have some kind of innate value, they arouse desire, just like the version label of the latest iPhone that is greater than yours by 1.

I’m sure you have come across productivity posts and videos where people talk about how they stay productive. In reality they just talk about what they use to be productive and why you should try it too. There is rarely any methods or techniques mentioned to uplift your productivity, no attempt to improve skills. What you see is basically a list of tools and commodities that promise you greater creative output. Essentially, it’s a well-packaged productivity products catalogue. It’s worth dedicating a separate post on how productivity itself is needlessly glorified, but let’s not digress.

I’m not saying we should be rigid and extremely pragmatic. We should take joy in marveling at the specific features of products, be it the taste of our favorite coffee brand or compilation speed of our favorite framework. I can understand that when it comes to small things in life. But when it comes to tools, activities or other things that occupy majority of our life, I see people using them for the sake of marveling at them, deriving some kind of aesthetic pleasure, while the work this tool is meant for is merely the means to enjoy the tool. This tendency takes over at large so that people take comfort in being known for what they like, what they consume, what they use, not what they do, what they strive for, what they have achieved, or what part they have played in something greater. Of course, pursuit of something greater should not be confused with one’s job, that itself could be means to an end.

Consumerism at this point becomes something religious. Just like Orthodox Christians have liturgical calendar, consumers have a calendar of their own. Whereas Christians mark their dates with liturgical activities like prayer, fasting, and memorials – all of this to achieve spiritual salvation – the consumer’s calendar is full of release dates of their favorite shows, video games, upcoming concerts, tourist trips etc. Full of emotions, true, but devoid of spirituality. Friday is for some people the day of crucifixion and for others – black Friday, the day of great sales! For many, this is the calendar they live by and live for.

I say “consumerism invading”, but has it ever not been there?