Consumerism: Buying what we don't need.

The other day I was trying to persuade my mom into buying a minivan when our old Camry dies, and she said something very interesting: "We only have five people in the family! Why do we need seven seats?" That's called consumerism. Buying what you don't need. Which everyone does, with the exception of my mom. She certainly had a point. We don't need 7 seats. Obviously though, it is much more fun to ride in a minivan than a little sedan. Minivans are also typically fancier than sedans. So this type of consumerism would be understandable. But I have more to say. The other day I noticed that my music teacher, who has had an iPhone 3GS for almost a year now has no apps. Zero. That just blew me away. What's the point of an iPhone if you don't have any apps? That's an even better example of consumerism. He could've bought a phone with half the price, and half the monthly fees that does all that he needs his iPhone for almost as well as his iPhone- probably with even faster typing. So why did he get the iPhone? I'm not really sure. Maybe it was brand name. Maybe he didn't know about other phones. Maybe he thought he would use the apps. If you could tell me why you think he bought the iPhone, do tell me in the comments!