products and choice
Have you ever stopped to think about this strange world in which we find ourselves. throughout human history we have made many technological advances and often in major bursts that completely revolutionised the way people lived i.e. the agricultural and industrial revolutions. The rate at which advances occur has been increasing rapidly in the last few decades to the extent that the majority of products available now wouldn’t have been thought of in our grandparents generation in their youth. This explosion of products in recent times is highlighted by the modern supermarket, which has on average 50,000 products on display compared to 15,000 in 1980. Things really start escalating when you add in all the electrical goods available to consumers as well. This vast amount of goods available has many damaging effects on society.
The most obvious knock on effect from this is the large quantities of waste produced. We have all seen the effects of this when driving on most irish roads where rubbish is common place. This is an international problem which is only escalating along with increasing populations and number of goods available. 
This is not 1 of those problems that can be ignored as much of the waste we dispose of is not dealt with properly and causes damages to animal and human environments alike. While the question of what to do with the waste does not have a perfect solution there are many ways in which we can reduce the problem. Much of the packaging used is for advertisement purposes rather than practical it could be reduced significantly if only profit margins where not so vital. Also the manner in which we deal with waste can be improved and has greatly in recent times. Recycling is becoming more and more pronounced as people become aware of the problems of waste.
Another issue that affects us all is much more psychological in nature. The numerous choices availible to us in every day to day activity have a severe knock on effect. There is a train of though that believes the more choice we have the unhappier we are and i agree strongly with this statement. Suppose for a moment you walked into a shop to buy an item of clothing, if this shop had only 1 choice in what you where looking for. After buying it it will have been the best option availible leaving you feeling happy with your choice. while on the other hand if there where 20 choices then in future you may be unsure if you made the best choice leaving you slightly unhappy at your choice. This logic can be applied to any modern consumer product which means we do not really benifit at all by having so much choice yet because the choice is there it becomes a big issue.
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