#19

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Quotes Included Above Prompt:

Advertisements provide information about available products and services. Many people argue, however, that something else is going on: advertisements try to convince people that when they buy things, they are also buying satisfaction and happiness. Advertisements merely fool people into believing that the next new and improved product will make their lives better, and the result is that people are even more unhappy and dissatisfied than they would have been without the advertisements.

Assignment:

Do advertisements contribute to unhappiness and dissatisfaction? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Brainstorm:

For this question, it may be helpful to think of recent advertisements you may have seen or heard. Did they make you unhappy, or did they simply make you more aware of what you did and didn’t want/need?

In order to answer affirmatively, think of ideas such as:
- Seeing advertisements for new versions of products can make us less satisfied with our current version
- Lack of satisfaction in our current products can be exaggerated by seeing advertisements

In order to answer negatively, think of ideas such as:
- Usually, we are dissatisfied with our current products before we even see advertisements for newer ones
- Advertisements are necessary ways for us to find out about products that can make us happier and improve our lives