In a consumer-driven economy, purchasing goods allows it to thrive. While need contributes largely to what is purchased, it is often want that fills the much-needed spending gap. With personal debt on the rise in the United States, it's hard not to think about what would happen if each individual purchased only what they needed. Would this help reduce the national debt or crash the economy? With the large presence of advertisements in everyday life, it is difficult to imagine what your day would be like without them. While advertising pays for much of the entertainment, it will always keep consumers wanting the best of the best, or the most popular, even if that means presenting information that is "somewhat" true. Living life no longer means enjoying it, but having status; having the most beautiful objects and being better than everyone thanks to those material possessions. Using techniques such as distortion of facts and emotional manipulation, advertising has a negative impact on society. When purchasing goods it is often assumed that the information presented is accurate, but in the eyes of advertising companies the important thing is to sell a product, even if this means distorting the facts. It's not just advertising companies that do this. Organizations do this in an attempt to “bump into” other people or rival organizations. Eric Shaw and Stuart Alan, authors of The Advertising Age Encyclopedia of Advertising, state that “advertising has been instrumental in creating a mass market” for cigarettes, and “despite a growing awareness of health risks and the increase of advertising restrictions,” the market continued to increase. . Despite the growing awareness of how harmful the cigar is… half the paper… no advertising, just what emotions will drive them to purchase the advertised item. Advertising based on techniques such as distortion of facts and manipulation Emotions have a negative effect on society. No one buys only what they need, because nowadays this implies an inferior image in the eyes of others. There will be no definitive end to advertising, but you should not take the information contained in such advertisements at face value. Do some research before a purchase and don't let advertising control how or why purchases are made simply because of how "nice" the product might make you look. Works Cited Bowers, Becky. “Line by Line: How an Ad Uses Sleight of Hand to Distort Facts About the Stimulus.” PolitiFact. Politifact.com, 4 May 2012. Web. 05 December 2013."The value of advertising." Value of advertising. World Federation of Advertisers, nd Web. 04 December. 2013.