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Consumer goods

Consumer goods made life more comfortable and more enjoyable than ever before. Homes filled up with gadgets, from toasters to video games, and from microwave ovens to hi-fi stereo systems, which first used plastic records and then CDs. The development of inexpensive synthetic fibres after World War II meant that fashion became more universally important, and in some cases, enormous pressure was placed on individuals to conform. Markets for children and teenagers expanded.

Easier chores

In general, the growth in consumer goods – from fridges to washing machines, and from cookers to steam irons and vacuum cleaners – made domestic chores easier. However, it also tended to pressure people into spending more money on goods they didn't really need. For the first time in history, people replaced highly complex gadgets before they were completely worn out.

Other problems arose: pollution from the use of consumer goods, with aerosols being blamed for damage to the planet's ozone layer, and waste disposal becoming an increasing source of environmental damage.

Car boom

Technological triumphs in the manufacture of items such as cars and televisions, which made them affordable to the many, went hand in hand with a growth in product styles. Design became a growth industry, persuading people to buy more goods because of the way they enhanced their image rather than because of the goods' innate utility.

The boom in car ownership, especially in last quarter of the century, also provoked criticism as pollution, noise and traffic jams became an increasingly common feature of everyday life. Protests against the car culture slowly developed, just as the image of a family slumped in front of their television led to criticism of political passivity and emotional nullity during the late 1950s and 1960s.

The massive explosion of science and technology during the 20th century obviously enriched life and expanded the possibilities of human progress. At the same time, it has led to new problems that would challenge human ingenuity for at least the following 100 years. These include understandable worries about the artificiality of a life dominated by machines, concerns about the environment, and anxieties about a loss of identity in many traditional and religious societies faced with remorseless technological advance.

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