Our consumer society

The high standard of living that we have in Norway means that we buy a lot of things. If everyone across the world were to live in the same way as in Norway, we’d need an additional three planets to provide enough resources.

Accessibility icon Our consumer society

Consumption and standard of living

The high standard of living that we have in Norway means that we buy a lot. As a result of this, we also throw away a lot of things that still work. The waste causes environmental problems as the landfills grow by the year.

If everybody in the whole world were to live in the same way as we do in Norway, we would need three planets to make sure that we had enough resources. Products are being produced more quickly and cheaply today than before. Cheaper products lead to a higher consumption than before.

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En stappfull handlevogn rullende oppover på en stor rød pil.
En stappfull handlevogn rullende oppover på en stor rød pil.

Norway has become a consumer society

A consumer is someone who buys goods and services from others. In Norway we shop far more than what is needed to survive. Instead of repairing things that are broken, they are often thrown away. We buy new clothes simply because the ones we have are no longer fashionable. Norway has become a throwaway society.

Some types of consumption are necessary consumption. We need food and clothes. Other types of consumption are unnecessary, and we don’t need it to survive. This type of consumption is more about convenience and the wish to be comfortable.

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En stor haug med dataustyr som skal gjenvinnes.
En stor haug med dataustyr som skal gjenvinnes.

Online shopping

Online shopping has increased in recent years, and not least as a result of the Covid-19 lockdowns for a large part of 2020. We had to rely even more than normally on the internet as we couldn’t physically go to a shop or meet other people.

Figures from Statistics Norway (SSB) show that infection control measures that were put into practice to stop the spread of the coronavirus greatly affected the buying patterns of Norwegians.

The figures show that over half of all card transactions were made online. The year before, it was just over 40 percent. In total, Norwegians used 40 million kroner in Norwegian and foreign online stores in the second half of 2020.

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En miniatyr handlevogn med varer stående oppå et tastatur til en laptop.
En miniatyr handlevogn med varer stående oppå et tastatur til en laptop.

Buying habits

In recent years, a lot of people have become more focused on buying products that are environmentally friendly, because they would like to see less pollution. Many people are also focusing on the food that we eat being as natural as possible. This is called organic food.

Others are focused on status symbols. They may buy the latest mobile phone, or jacket, even if they already have a mobile phone or jacket. It is the price and brand that are the deciding factors.

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En bil laget av grønne blader stående i et landskap med blå himmel og grønt gress.
En bil laget av grønne blader stående i et landskap med blå himmel og grønt gress.

The power of advertising

We are influenced by the advertising we see and the people we connect with. This is something that happens whether we want it to or not. We are influenced by advertising bombarding us on social media. This can lead to buying pressure.

Buying pressure means that you feel that you have to buy a certain product or service without really having a need for it. Those who work in advertising have in-depth knowledge about what our needs are as consumers. Not least during the annual Black Friday!

When you watch sports or a film on TV, you will almost certainly see an advert being shown about food, snacks or drinks. At this point, many people automatically go to the fridge to find something to eat or drink. Some may even go to their cornershop to buy something.

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Reklame for handelsdagen Black Friday.
Reklame for handelsdagen Black Friday.

Influencers

The word comes from the English word “influence”. An influencer is a person who speaks publicly on social media to influence the attitudes and actions of their followers. Young influencers often have credibility and a strong impact and can easily influence their target audience.

 

Businesses often work with influencers to have their products marketed on social media.

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Ung influenser med rosa hår som viser frem en gullsko foran et kamera.
Ung influenser med rosa hår som viser frem en gullsko foran et kamera.

Sources:

  • Pihl, Roger: influenser i Store norske leksikon på snl.no.
    Hentet 26. november 2021 fra http://snl.no/influenser
  • Klepp, Ingun Grimstad: forbruk i Store norske leksikon på snl.no.
    Hentet 26. november 2021 fra http://snl.no/forbruk
  • Vikøren, Birger M.: netthandel i Store norske leksikon på snl.no.
    Hentet 26. november 2021 fra https://snl.no/netthandel
  • Klepp, Ingun Grimstad: Black Friday i Store norske leksikon på snl.no.
    Hentet 26. november 2021 fra https://snl.no/Black_Friday

Media Rights:

    1. Getty Images
    2. Getty Images
    3. Getty Images
    4. Getty Images
    5. Getty Images
    6. Getty Images – ABC News (Australia) – YouTube
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