Consoomers - What's the difference between consooming and collecting? Is there a difference?

[Canoodler]

The difference between a collecter and a consoomer is one of those things where it's hard to really explain, but you'll know it when you see it.

 

[make_it_so]

Let's use Moviebob as an example, the ultimate consoomer, and his 'love' of Spiderman.

When Sony rebooted the Tobey Maguire movies, Bob was pissed that they weren't continuing the story with a new actor. A collector is happy that they have the full trilogy and will look forward to seeing what comes next. Bob hated the Amazing Spiderman for not being Spiderman 4. When that series was cancelled, he sang with glee. And when Spiderman Homecoming came out, he was pissed again that Disney didn't give Tobey Maguire a truckload of money to come back and continue the story. A collector would have just been happy to see Spiderman interacting with the Avengers. The consoomer is upset he's unable to consoom a new product in the same series indefinitely.

See, I actually disagree. Because I think one of the defining features of consoomerism is that they don't have discerning taste and will never criticize new product. This was more a case of Moviebob being a tard (as usual).

As for consoomers versus collectors, I think there's more than a little bit of overlap between the two. Both can and will get obsessively involved in a brand or product, and both can and will amass a large amount of merchandise related to the brand that, to an outsider, will appear strange. And I think both can very easily let their hobby take over their life if they're not careful. But while collectors might be bit more discerning about their choices in their collection, or how the direction of their favorite brand is going, a consoomer will accept it and embrace it no matter what.

I think "consoomerism" is like obscenity, because "I know it when I see it." It's even more nebulous since there are different flavors of consoomerism beyond "consume product and get excited for next product" Consoomerism, i.e. "values" Consoomerism, where people buy product from a global corporate hegemon because it said "trans rights" or "christian values" instead of the quality of the product.

Best test I can think of for consoomerism is "if it's behavior that would make a marketing executive from a soulless corporate hegemon ejaculate with the force of a thousand suns, then it's probably consoomerism."

Also this. There is a "lifestyle" element to consoomerism that expresses itself in political and social behavior. See all the "We Are Dubledore's Army" posts that went up in the aftermath of when the Bad Orange Man first got elected.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

The difference is that if you point to a specific thing the person bought and ask him "why did you buy it?" they'll give an actual answer rather than look at you like you insulted their mothers.
In case of books/games it's even simpler to discern: "did you read/play it to the end?". Consoomers will have entire shelves stocked with nostalgia driven merch they will never ever actually use, but they will assure you that they will when they get a chance.