It’s hard to feel sympathy for people who blithely refer to themselves as ‘consumers’ while bemoaning things like “the undue influence of global elites”. If you—or a client—want to be seen as an educated maker of economic decisions and agent of one’s own fate, may we suggest that ‘consumer’, which brings to mind adjectives on the order of ‘mindless’, ‘rapacious’, and ‘indiscriminate’, not be your self-descriptor of choice.
When it comes to the verb ‘to consume’, things are hardly better. If you could choose, you wouldn’t want to be caught ‘consuming alcohol’, right?
No, no.
You would rather indulge in a quality cocktail over some two-way flirting or nurse a fine craft beer over a few zingers with friends or—perish the thought—succumb to the sorcery of a silver-tongued sommelier and sample a flight of sublime vintages.
Well, you get the idea.
By analogy, ‘consuming content’ sounds like being made to eat tripe. Instead, why not:
read a book,
ruminate on a poem,
reflect on an essay,
allow yourself to become engrossed in a film, long or short,
etc.
Just some food for thought.
The Contrarian Agrarian: Most farmers who make a habit of giving advice tend to be getting on in years. I’m a silver fox myself, if you must know. Which is why it brings me special pleasure to bring up the concept of grandfathering things in.
You may not like the fact that thinking, feeling, choice-making folks are routinely referred to as ‘consumers’ by the financial, and even the general press, but it’s a fact we just might have to accept.
Unless, that is, we want to start a revolution—and this week, comrades, I’m plumb out of pitchforks. (And, in any case, farms are mostly mechanized these days, with hand tools seen as quite quaint.)
I do agree that using the verb ‘consume’ is a personal choice—as is not using it—and if I were you, I’d err on the side of ‘not’.
