an apple a day keeps the doctor away?

The time has come where apples and blackberries are no longer seen as fruits, but spark thoughts of technological brands. An i-age is what I would define today as. And yes, I am referring to iphones and ipads and iproducts. Not just that, today our opposable thumbs seem to be indispensible in performing our daily tasks (not hard manual labour, but SMS-ing). It's 2010, and the days of snail mail and messenger pigeons are long gone. It is amazing how even siblings living under the same roof can facebook wall each other while seated in their own rooms. Or take the example of handphones and how they have become some sort of appendages on us, without which one begins to feel handicapped and agonized.

Are we truly moving into a society that is non-functional without these gadgets? Are we moving into a materialistic world defined by products and brands? These questions are worth raising and contemplating on. Somehow products have begun to embody our own aspirations and even bits and pieces of ourselves. But is this healthy? Probably not.

Even though, I may have fallen prey to consumerism in several instances, I believe it is of extreme importance to not lose ourselves in the process. A bag, for instance, should be to hold your items and make transportation of objects easier and not something that personifies you. Personification of oneself via objects leads to an unhealthy obssession and drive to attain more objects to express oneself. I recently heard from a friend about a mother who purchases branded goods for her child, just so she can drive them to work hard to attain such brands. But is what we want for the future generation? Children talking in the language of Gucci and Prada and aiming to get that latest design burberry coat rather than personal development?

On the whole, we as individuals need to draw that line between over-indulgence in materialistic possessions and remind ourselves to keep close what truly matters - friends and family and personal development. After all, that latest Gucci handbag may develop holes after a period of time, but our values and morales remain.