Do youse guys think consoomers might be more of a symptom of the culture than anything else, like people who give up retreat into it?
Edit: I'm going to be honest I've kind of just gone full 100% vidya consoomer and I know it's because the world feels shitty and the game worlds feel much more varied and rewarding and welcoming than this piss.
Its a combination of many factors. I am no psychologist, but this is a topic I enjoy alot so hopefully I can offer an opinion or explanation that is somewhat eye-opening.
1. Collecting in general is an oddity of the mind. I would not go so far as to call it a mental illness, but it many times piggybacks on other mental illnesses or issues. Collectors, before various collectables became main-stream as speculative assets, as were largely viewed money-wasters or very frivolous individuals, but it is not a new behaviour, with things like cigarette cards being some of the first notable items made to be a collectable. However, even in large cities at the time there would be little community for such.
2. Brand loyalty is as old as there has been brands, and has both been a natural happening (if you buy horseshoes from this company and 100 out of a 100 times those horseshoes are great- you're gonna keep using it, and evangelizing the quality of the brand), and intentionally cultivated.
3. Over the years, companies have gotten better and better cultivating brand loyalty, both through advertisement/propoganda, movie placements, celebrity endorsements, brand tie-ins and crosspromotions, and monopolizing as much as possible.
4. Despite the dire straights many people are in economically, various useless baubles and entertainment items are surprisingly cheap, allowing even the poorest person on government funding (and who has not-so-good-money management skills) to be able to afford a veritable sum of tat.
5. This is a bit more modern, through the internet, communities of various collectors, brand loyalists/evangelists, and fangroups have allowed there to be a consistent audience to share your collections or brand opinions with and have not just engagement, but praise and affirmation from. Even the most small and niche of hobbies and communities can suddenly have 100s, if not 1,000s of people all sharing opinions, and urging others to grow their collection/keep buying from brand.
6. As companies and brands have gotten bigger, there is more and more things these companies can sell. Referring to my previous example, its not just horseshoes, its the saddle, the provender, the bit, and in some instances- even the horse to you can get from the same company per-say.
7. Many brands have aligned themselves with political ideologies found favorable by many people, and thusly- manage to make support for the brand
feel equivalent (though not in actuality) as if one is supporting said ideology directly. See our dear friends in the Rowling Derangement Syndrome thread for just how effective thats been.
8. Entertainment media is increasingly becoming a topical balm to deal with the woes of life and society. Though given there is only so many movies and tv-shows of one's favorite media one can watch (or games to play), inevitably having items in relation to these media helps extend or mimic the feelings given to one by these media franchises.
9. Acquisition of objects is commonly expressed as a form of therapy to distract one from one's woes. Combine this with a brand to make one already have a preference for objects, an excuse for perception as political virtue, a stream of 100s of evangelists, a community of fans who will affirm your purchase, an extreme ease of acquisition and many times affordability of a single sale, as well as the common inclination to collect the entirety of something-... And it would be almost more of a surprise if the consooming behaviour WASN'T a virulent plague.
