#socioloy

Making this list showed me a firsthand example of what consumerism actually is. Companies advertise items to a crowd that they’ll attract the most. Expensive items such as cars, phones, air pods, watches, are all wants that are mostly bought by teens and young adults provoked by the media and the society around them.

I noticed that the majority of my list were wants. Electronics, clothes, shoes, beauty supplies are excess items that are not a necessity. It’ll be times where I just go on random shopping sprees buying things I know I may not need or use later down the road but, since I want it in that moment, I get it. 75% of my items came from big known companies like Walmart, Amazon, Target, etc. and now that I think about it, I could have saved so much money by purchasing needs more than wants.

This is also a result of privilege. Growing up, my needs were given to me for the most part so I had money to buy whatever I wanted and not needed. Not everyone is given the opportunity to take advantage of the advertisements seen on television or in stores or online because their income goes straight to the necessities.

This assignment has definitely opened my eyes more and made me realize how I could be more responsible with how I spend my money.

Concept Map

Amari Anderson

Aisha Osei-Zulu

Brianna Richardson

Amari Anderson

A typical wooden pencil. A writing tool used for recording, communicating, writing journals, and more. Everyone uses pencils at some point in their life, but how much do we actually know about them? 

History:

As popular as pencils may be now, it was not always like that. Pencils  were invented in 1795 by a man named Nicholas-Jacques Conte. Before this, people were using chalk, stone, ink, and even carving messages into wood for them to be baked later. During the graphite deposit in England in 1564, it was discovered that graphite was and still is a great tool for writing. In 1662, German manufacturers began inserting the graphite into hollow sticks of wood and began the first mass production of wooden pencils.

Manufacturing:

The pencil I am holding was manufactured from the pen+GEAR company that was first established in India. Pen+GEAR products are distributed through companies such as Target and Walmart, that can be found pretty much anywhere. The development of wooden pencils have extremely improved over time. During the 17th century, the graphite and clay that is found within the pencil, was grounded down into a cylindrical mold in order to be inserted in the wood. Now, there are huge factories that have machines that mass produce pencils by cutting down the cedar wood, inserting the lead, and stamping on the design, logo, or company trademark. The metal ferrule that is used to hold the eraser in place is made of aluminum, while the eraser itself is made of rubber. 

Impact:

The production of wooden pencils had a negative impact on the environment since they required wood from trees. People began to fight for tree conservation and, as a result, mechanical pencils began trending. Mechanical pencils are a lot more popular and appealing to the human eye due to the different amount of colors and designs being made. This development was a win for both the community and businesses. The people are able to use pencils without harming the environment and company owners such as Walmart CEO, Doug McMillon, and Target CEO, Brian Cornell, continue to make 19-22 million dollar salaries.

http://www.historyofpencils.com/

Time-Space Compression

Example: Communication

Psychologically Accurate!  Scientifically Sound!