Today we have an enormous number of choices in our daily life. What clothes to buy, which fabrics to buy, where to buy them, how much to pay, etc. One choice leads to another, and we have a series of choices to choose from. But this convenience comes with a price: The ethical dilemma. Should I buy cheap clothes, or should I avoid fast fashion due to workers’ conditions? Should I buy a plastic bag or choose a more environmentally friendly option?
When there are so many options, people can become overwhelmed. We have the freedom to make ethical choices, but too many options can leave us unable to decide at all.
Jean-Paul Sartre was a philosopher who wrote extensively about freedom, choice, responsibility, and human existence. One important idea associated with Sartre is the paradox of choice. Humans have freedom of choice and, therefore, are responsible for the choices they make. If we’re free to choose, are we actually responsible for all the choices we make? This is incredibly overwhelming in today’s world where we constantly have to choose. When someone has 50 different ethical factors to consider before making a choice, are we actually free? This can become highly infuriating in the modern world.
You can care about the environment but still buy fast-fashion. Or you can care about labour rights or workers’ rights but still end up buying from places that are known for having underage workers just because it is more trusted for your products. Another example I’d like to propose is for someone to share sensitive information without confirming its source, whilst raising awareness of the spread of misinformation.
But can everyone realistically behave ethically all the time when modern life is so complicated? No, being unethical in your decision-making is not implied, but a genuine question of whether you can fulfil every ethical factor in a situation, or whether you have to prioritise what leads to more ethical results. Now, there are two aspects where these choices are to be made: conscious consumerism, where you try to make ethical choices as a consumer. Where people have to consider the ethical conditions when buying a product. Just as boycotting brands that are funding/supporting the ongoing genocides in Gaza and Syria. Thinking about the time a said brand got cancelled for breaking its cruelty-free policy, or a company which does not support or fulfil workers’ rights. Considering all these situations and choosing ethically is an act of conscious consumerism.
Now comes Digital consumerism, which is basically choosing your digital platforms ethically. Avoiding the spread of misinformation, raising awareness, or choosing to spread positivity and kindness. Every choice leads to a series of consequences. Consider this: You like and comment on an Instagram post by someone from Gaza asking for donations. You either donate or share it to raise awareness. Now, you may forget that one like, share, comment or copying that link, but that post may reach a donor, and they get enough donations. Or their accounts could get verified on some platforms and even get paid, such as on TikTok Live, just because they reached a certain number of views or likes. Such a tiny action can lead to a link with massive, positive consequences. If every action had moral consequences we are not aware of, are we really responsible for every choice we make?