SAY NO TO TEMU

Ebay, Amazon, Wish, and now Temu. Blah! I'm disgusted. When will it end?

We don't need another Wish or Amazon Prime, except this has the potential to add to the detriments humanity faces. I'm late to the conversation, but I have been meaning to write this after I saw the first dozen or so Temu ads, I knew we were in more trouble.

First off, I have seen AI-Generated/Photoshopped women in lingerie (who are highly unrealistic, mind you!) as clickbait in their pitiful attempt at world domination. Cheap, man, dirt cheap. It's just like those unwanted porn pop-ups on your browser when you accidentally click on a sketchy site. Who the heck wants that? Notably, they've turned the entire app into a giant gambling/casino experience, but it's on your phone and anywhere you want to go! Dangerous, right? You could accidentally click on the ad, which I know happened to most of us as it happened to me multiple times. One click could suck you down a poisonous, hopeless loophole where you become even more addicted to shop scrolling and minigame discounts, which you don't even know how these products are made, where they come from, who's blood, sweat and tears are being put into them. Plus, who wants useless junk that's going to break after a few days or weeks? This is another classic case of planned obsolescence where companies and "brands" will intentionally design, build and manufacture a product using the cheapest material and methods possible just to fill the conveyor belt at the factories for trapped peoples to spend their lives assembling for your thing. Obsolescence is when they know their item will break in a shorter amount of time, and you will have to buy another one and line their pockets. You have no choice if there are no better options.

We must favor companies that are, to be frank, nothing like Temu, or Wish. Shouldn't we be striving for quality over quantity in all areas of life? Like relationships, books, clothes, etc.? I understand not everyone can afford more quality, but if you think about it the effects of low-quality items in larger quantities may average out to about the same price, without the hassle of the time and energy it takes to buy more stuff. Do we want more stuff? By now we know that pointless stuff means nothing, and brings you absolutely no joy, at least for me. Collecting trinkets and dolls, displaying rows and rows of shoes, receiving clothes you'll forget to wear after the first time because your closet's already packed, or picking up furniture you have zero space for. We should all be choosing products that we know were sourced ethically and environmentally safe, free of animal testing, using renewable/recycled/reclaimed pieces (even biodegradable depending on the object!) to built the item you need/want. Something that lasts for many years to come that may be a bit more expensive up-front but you know that in the long-run you're saving money. Would you rather buy an apple laptop every, say 3-4 years for $1,800 (and that's on the low end) OR would you rather buy a [insert brand here] laptop that costs $2,800 and will last you, guaranteed for 10 years, average of 15 years whose values are more forward-thinking and who genuinely care about customer satisfaction, relationships, longevity AND people and planet. They have reused parts and material, they pay their people fairly, they have lasting customers and supporters, they're cruelty free, have a neutral footprint and have ongoing environmental projects & campaigns.

Companies such as Temu are strategically marketing and capitalizing through as many low-life methods possible to convert people to their e-commerce platform and take-over the industry from bait/phishing, catchy jingle, huge levels of commercialization, deploying most profits to marketing/advertising on all major media platforms (YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, etc.) instead of paying their labor fairly or source their products from more ethical, humane establishments for the quality of workspace. As social media has negatively impacted many people's lives through endless scrolling, hits of newsfeed updates, automatic video plays, and algorithmic targeting filters, Temu has been successful at fooling millions of people using similar tactics. Don't fall for it!

What a dreadful attempt at brainwashing those who have a spec of intelligence or self-restraint. It's like this, do you want to be addicted and remain a victim to programming and baiting? Or do you want a life full of meaning and experiences where money gets you stories to tell and adventures? Or would you rather sit in a cluttered room, unable to think, shamelessly hunting for "deals" and "steals" while the environment, wildlife, and the basically enslaved peoples suffer in order for you to receive a few seconds of artificial dopamine for your tap-of-a-button thing? Temu and others are the epitome of unhealthy, toxic capitalism with absolutely no personality or any resemblances of a real living ("human") touch. Senseless buying and advertising. Endless sponsorships and promotions. Unlimited amount of generated waste and expenditure on ad placements and cheap marketing schemes. Piles of trash and copious amounts of CO2. Consumerism will die. This is not just an attack on Temu, this is an attack on present-day Capitalism and Capitalistic ideology.