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Cringy, Tacky, Tasteless
Schlock Nation: Crap and its Consequences
When we stop knowing what is good
We’ve all been through periods of buying stuff we don’t need, taken in by to-good-to-true ads. My particular weakness — more of a problem in my 30s — was purchasing tech gear that never quite worked.
I’m too embarrassed to mention the gadgetry that appealed to my nerd gene. Let’s say I was putting good money down for essentially hi-tech crap. As a former kid, I know shiny schlocky products attract males between the ages of eight to sixteen — before other more powerful forces kick in. But it still has a hold on the American male well into the adult years.
According to my very quick research, in 2022 $7 trillion was spent on consumer retail alone. The largest component of that is the $1 trillion flowing into e-commerce sites — all those boxes delivered by Amazon trucks to our homes.
I’m glad the economy is doing well, and the American middle class has disposable income to waste on useless trinkets. Once you understand more than half of the GDP is based on personal consumption and that online products — talking to you Wayfair — are at its best gleaming junk, then you can truthfully say the American economy is built on an unsteady foundation of crap.
