Hi. My name is Mark.

I have become a “consumer” and I don’t like it. Not a consumer in the “Economics. a person or organization that uses a commodity or service” sense of the word. No. I’ve become a consumer as in “a person or thing that consumes” sense of the word. (And consume is not a verb with a very positive connotation.)

I spend hours of my day feeding on mostly useless crap. Internet stories that are irrelevant within 6 hours. TV shows that are poorly written, predictable, and THAT I’VE ALREADY SEEN….twice. I check out reviews on gadgets I really don’t need or really want all that bad. I shove food into my face without even thinking about where it’s from and what it’s actually made of. I keep up with industry “experts”, many of which are just making things up as they go along like the rest of us. I watch every minute of a football playoff blowout just because “it’s the playoffs.”

Even the things that aren’t crap I approach with my consumerist attitude. The books I pick up (and I believe I pick up some good books) are quickly devoured in order to move onto the next. The music I find is quickly listened to until it’s worn out. The music I want to learn is just another checkbox to hammer out. Even church is just a video a stream away for me.

Don’t get me wrong. This is not an everyday, every minute kind of thing. I have moments (even hours) where I am focusing, enjoying, savoring, fully experiencing the things around me. But left to my own devices, I slide into consumption easier than…well just really easily. In fact, I’d be hard pressed to find a full 24 hours where I was fully experiencing each hour.

So…yeah…that sucks. My name is Mark and I’m a consumer. Welcome to Consumers Anonymous.

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(Ok a quick google search shows that there are “real” Consumers Anonymous groups. For clarification, this is not one of those.)