Prompt: Some people say that advertising encourages us to buy things that we really do not need. Others say that advertisements tell us about new products that may improve our lives. Ċ Which viewpoint do you agree with? Ċ Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

As our lives are increasingly becoming consumed by the media, our interactions with advertisements must be closely studied and evaluated. While some experts propose that ads allow us the benefit of being introduced to new beneficial objects, others might argue that they make us more consumerism-oriented. This essay will discuss why I agree with the latter viewpoint. Ċ First and foremost, more and more people are buying items they do not need just because they had been advertised to them in a way that compels them to run to the store and make the purchase. Moreover, marketing agencies have studied the market and consumers for years. Therefore, they know exactly how to approach them. For instance, I have made many purchases that were not necessary because they were marketed to me in a way that made me think they would make life easier and more enjoyable. Sadly, they were not able to deliver what they had promised. Unfortunately, many people make the same mistake as me. Ċ Secondly, constantly buying products that do not have tangible benefits could be a serious source of wasting money. With the large numbers of marketing campaigns we are exposed to each day, many people are throwing away their difficultly earned money on things that are not of service to us, instead of investing to buy what could be incredibly valuable objects. For example, I have recently read an article published in Harvard Business Review that illustrated how the average human wastes 188 dollars each month on items he does not need. Ċ To conclude, although advertisements might sometimes introduce us to helpful gadgets, I believe that they make us buy what we do not need at the expense of what could actually be of service to us. In addition to compelling us to waste money in the process.