How Wokeism, Tokenism, and Consumerism Impact Our Health and Well-Being and What We Can Do About It

I offer a nuanced perspective based on research and leadership experiences

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I also published this important story on Medium and my website to raise awareness and create a healthy debate.

Photo by Kindel Media

Dear Subscribers, I trust this post finds you well and happy.

During the recent election campaign in the US, three concepts—wokeism, tokenism, and consumerism—have appeared frequently in discussions and gained attention in social media posts and academic research, especially in politics, economics, business, leadership, and culture. However, many posts, podcasts, or videos missed the nuances and interrelationships.

Although I have no interest in politics, the impact of health and well-being and the implications of these concepts have been of interest to me for a long time. I noticed that their effects on our health and well-being remained largely overlooked.

Therefore, I decided to write this discussion post and want to explore these ideas, uncover their connections, examine their profound influence on our lives, give you a new perspective, and perhaps help you understand the discussions in the press and the scientific literature.

At first glance, these somewhat esoteric terms to the public may seem like abstract concepts, but they shape how we think, interact, and navigate the world around us. They are intensely investigated in cognitive science, neuroscience, mental health studies, and global healthcare literature.

However, I will not go into scientific and technical details as they might cause more confusion. I will discuss the key points by sharing my thoughts, findings, and observations at a high level to give you a broad perspective and stir a healthy debate.

Before sharing my thoughts for a discussion, it can be useful to define these concepts, understand what they mean, and then uncover how they intertwine to impact our health and society.

Although the word “woke” originated in the 1920s, the term “wokeism” only entered dictionaries, such as the Oxford English Dictionary, in 2023. Interestingly, when spell-checking my draft today, even Grammarly flagged it as a misspelled word.

Wokeism, to me, means being aware of social injustices and actively working to address them. It aligns with my values of fairness, inclusion, diversity, and equity — principles I strive to uphold both personally and professionally.

However, despite its positive intentions, wokeism is misrepresented or misunderstood. Critics sometimes use the term dismissively, reducing it to a catchphrase to discredit progressive ideas or activism.

Tokenism refers to superficial gestures that aim to appear inclusive but fail to create real change. These actions might leave people feeling reduced to symbols, valued for appearance rather than meaningful contributions.

Consumerism, one of the biggest challenges of our modern age as a by-product of capitalism, focuses on the relentless push to buy more, presenting material goods as the key to happiness. While it can lead to convenience and innovation, consumerism prioritizes profit over people’s well-being, creating overconsumption. This can deepen insecurities.

With these definitions in mind, let us explore how these concepts relate to one another and what that means for our health and society.

How Wokeism, Tokenism, and Consumerism Connect

From my research and analysis of what is covered in the literature, these three ideas are closely linked, shaping each other in ways that are not always obvious. Therefore, I want to highlight a few key points.

20 years ago, a paper titled “Consumerism and its discontents” in the American Psychological Association was an eye opener to me and inspired me to research the topic and also make changes in my life.

It gave me the big picture and asked a powerful question. “Compared with Americans in 1957, today we own twice as many cars per person, eat out twice as often and enjoy endless other commodities that weren’t around then — big-screen TVs, microwave ovens, SUVs, and handheld wireless devices, to name a few. But are we any happier?”

While exploring the topic, I understood that consumerism might absorb wokeism. I noticed that companies align themselves with social causes to attract buyers who care about social justice. While some efforts are genuine, others are performative, undermining the essence of wokeism.

For example, a brand might proudly display inclusive messages during a campaign but fail to take meaningful actions to support the communities it claims to represent.

Tokenism might feed into consumerism. Brands use token representation in advertisements to create an image of diversity. However, this approach is more about selling products than addressing systemic issues. For instance, a health company might feature diverse faces in its ads while doing little to make its services accessible to underserved communities.

Consumerism, in turn, can weaken wokeism.

By focusing on materialism and encouraging conformity, consumerism can distract from the broader societal changes wokeism seeks to achieve. Promoting expensive eco-friendly products, for instance, can exclude many people and create an illusion of progress rather than addressing real and more profound environmental challenges.

These interconnections reveal how these forces influence societal behaviors and values, pulling us in conflicting directions.

After this background, I want to touch on the effects of these concepts on our health and well-being.

The Impact of Wokeism, Tokenism, and Consumerism on Health and Well-Being

These concepts — wokeism, tokenism, and consumerism — shape our mental, physical, and emotional well-being in complex and profound ways.