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Reflection Society

Consumerist Significance

Liked Oliver Burkeman’s Cosmic Insignificance Therapy by Anna Havron (annahavron.com)

Our 21st century American culture is not neutral about what it means to be significant. In commercial and social media, significance is defined as success; success in turn is all about doing or having things that impress people who are strangers to you.

Furthermore, commercial and social media-promoted success is a) in the context of the marketplace, and is b) quantifiable by the marketplace.

So “significance” means you have a six-figure follower count; it means you have dollars in the bank (preferably millions or billions); or it means you have dollars you’ve turned into something almost no one else can afford (say, your own space ship).

By Tracy Durnell

Writer and designer in the Seattle area. Freelance sustainability consultant. Reach me at tracy.durnell@gmail.com. She/her.

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