Interview

To be honest, it depends entirely on what I am shopping for. Browsing for clothes or gadgets can be genuinely enjoyable, almost like a leisure activity, whereas doing the weekly food shop feels more like a task I just want to get done. I think for most people shopping is somewhere in between — it can be fun when there is no time pressure and you find exactly what you were looking for.

Without a doubt, overconsumption is a serious issue in modern society. Advertising constantly creates the impression that owning the latest product will make you happier or more successful, and social media amplifies this pressure by showing carefully curated images of other people's purchases. I think the main cause is that many people shop to cope with stress or boredom rather than out of genuine necessity.

On balance, I think investing in quality items is usually the wiser choice, even though it requires more money upfront. A well-made product tends to last significantly longer, which means you end up spending less in the long run and also produce less waste. That said, for things you use rarely, it makes little sense to overspend — context really matters here.

There is no doubt that online shopping has completely transformed consumer behaviour over the past decade. The convenience of ordering anything from your phone and having it delivered the next day has made shopping faster and, in many cases, cheaper. However, I think it has also made impulse buying far too easy, and the environmental cost of all that packaging and delivery traffic is something we cannot ignore.

I genuinely believe that ethical consumption matters, even if it is not always convenient or affordable. Every purchase is, in a way, a vote for the kind of production practices you want to support — if more people chose fair-trade or eco-friendly products, companies would be forced to change. That said, I understand that not everyone can afford to prioritise ethics over price, and blaming individuals is less effective than pushing for systemic change at the corporate and government level.