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That word has permeated our language. There was a time when the word for "normal everyday person" was "citizen". Now it's "consumer". I hate it too.

by blt 10y ago

aninhumer 10y ago
They're different words which draw different contrasts. A citizen is a normal person in contrast to the military (and unfortunately, lately the police). A consumer is a normal person in contrast to manufacturers/media companies.
- skolsuper 10y ago
  I think you're confusing "citizen" with "civilian" there, although I agree neither are the same thing or were ever used in the same way as "consumer". define 'citizen' - > a legally recognized subject or national of a state or commonwealth, either native or naturalized.
  - aninhumer 10y ago
    >I think you're confusing "citizen" with "civilian" Oh indeed. Not sure how that happened. In any case, my point is that the words are used in different contexts to emphasise different things. People don't talk about "citizens" in the context of the media market, because legal nationality isn't really relevant to the topic.
  - VLM 10y ago
    Its a double plus ungood badthink to point out that X% of the population watching TV show "Y" in the geographic boundaries of the USA are citizens of some other country, especial if they're the fraction that are here illegally. Better to just call them people, which is factually correct, implies they should have equal treatment, and is somewhat more relevant WRT the commercial nature of TV unless you're trying to use TV commercials to sell something that would appeal to people based strongly on nation of citizenship like Mexico flags or immigration lawyer or language learning products or similar.
ericd 10y ago
Same, my stomach churns a little every time it's used. It's unfortunate because one implies engagement, productivity, and civic mindedness, the other implies passivity, gluttony, etc.
- codingdave 10y ago
  So... sounds like the word is being used properly.

That word has permeated our language. There was a time when the word for "normal everyday person" was "citizen". Now it's "consumer". I hate it too.

by blt 10y ago

That word has permeated our language. There was a time when the word for "normal everyday person" was "citizen". Now it's "consumer". I hate it too.

aninhumer 10y ago

They're different words which draw different contrasts. A citizen is a normal person in contrast to the military (and unfortunately, lately the police). A consumer is a normal person in contrast to manufacturers/media companies.

skolsuper 10y ago
I think you're confusing "citizen" with "civilian" there, although I agree neither are the same thing or were ever used in the same way as "consumer". define 'citizen' - > a legally recognized subject or national of a state or commonwealth, either native or naturalized.
- aninhumer 10y ago
  >I think you're confusing "citizen" with "civilian" Oh indeed. Not sure how that happened. In any case, my point is that the words are used in different contexts to emphasise different things. People don't talk about "citizens" in the context of the media market, because legal nationality isn't really relevant to the topic.
- VLM 10y ago
  Its a double plus ungood badthink to point out that X% of the population watching TV show "Y" in the geographic boundaries of the USA are citizens of some other country, especial if they're the fraction that are here illegally. Better to just call them people, which is factually correct, implies they should have equal treatment, and is somewhat more relevant WRT the commercial nature of TV unless you're trying to use TV commercials to sell something that would appeal to people based strongly on nation of citizenship like Mexico flags or immigration lawyer or language learning products or similar.

ericd 10y ago

Same, my stomach churns a little every time it's used. It's unfortunate because one implies engagement, productivity, and civic mindedness, the other implies passivity, gluttony, etc.

codingdave 10y ago
So... sounds like the word is being used properly.