--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are people with lives, not consumers…" description: "\"We are people with lives, not consumers with lifestyles.\" — Lily Tomlin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/lily-tomlin-3278_consumers_we-are-people-with-lives-not-consumers-w_686054.png" --- # We are people with lives, not consumers with lifestyles. ![“We are people with lives, not consumers with lifestyles.” quote by Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/lily-tomlin-3278_consumers_we-are-people-with-lives-not-consumers-w_686054.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/lily-tomlin-3278_consumers_we-are-people-with-lives-not-consumers-w_686054.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/lily-tomlin-3278_consumers_we-are-people-with-lives-not-consumers-w_686054.png) > “We are people with lives, not consumers with lifestyles.” [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People are more than market segments; they have personal lives beyond consumer identities. **In simple terms:** People have real lives, not just buying habits. Key Takeaway Treat individuals as whole persons. Themes humanity consumerism identity Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - advertising strategies - customer service - product design Key Concepts social psychology marketing ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can companies respect personal boundaries? - What policies protect consumer dignity? A Different Perspective Businesses may overlook profit motives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consumers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumers/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lifestyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifestyle/) [Lifestyles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifestyles/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [We all know how the Internet has changed the lives of consumers: it's changed how we communicate, how we shop, how we meet people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-webb/we-all-know-how-the-internet-has-changed-the-lives-of-consumers-it-s/) [Maynard Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-webb/) > [I discovered a long time ago that if I focus on doing the right thing for the long term to improve the lives of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-polman/i-discovered-a-long-time-ago-that-if-i-focus-on-doing-the-right-thing/) [Paul Polman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-polman/) > [Clearly, America's dysfunctional food culture must bear some of the blame for our excess pounds, but it's likely our walking-averse lifestyles contribute as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/clearly-america-s-dysfunctional-food-culture-must-bear-some-of-the/) [Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/) > [Evidence of defendants' lavish lifestyles is often used to provide a motive for fraud. Jurors sometimes wonder why an executive making tens of millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/evidence-of-defendants-lavish-lifestyles-is-often-used-to-provide-a/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) > [America is about choices, including those to live certain lifestyles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamza-yusuf/america-is-about-choices-including-those-to-live-certain-lifestyles/) [Hamza Yusuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamza-yusuf/) > [“Poverty has deceived many of us into believing that some people who are in that state love the food, clothes, places, and people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/poverty-has-deceived-many-of-us-into-believing-that-some-people-who/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [It is certainly not true that the population can be easily divided into those who lead healthy lifestyles, and those who do not: most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mildred-blaxter/it-is-certainly-not-true-that-the-population-can-be-easily-divided/) [Mildred Blaxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mildred-blaxter/) > [Diesel pioneered the idea of luxury denim, and we still drive this market. But it encompasses more: the consumers love the brand, the lifestyle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renzo-rosso/diesel-pioneered-the-idea-of-luxury-denim-and-we-still-drive-this/) [Renzo Rosso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renzo-rosso/) > [Americans are gathering the courage to just say no. We are saying no to addictive consumer lifestyles. We are saying no to wars and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-mckinney/americans-are-gathering-the-courage-to-just-say-no-we-are-saying-no/) [Cynthia McKinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-mckinney/) > [Going green doesn’t start with doing green acts - it starts with a shift in consciousness. This shift allows you to recognize that with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-somerhalder/going-green-doesn-t-start-with-doing-green-acts-it-starts-with-a/) [Ian Somerhalder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-somerhalder/) > [I developed the pilot for 'Entertainment Tonight' with Jack Haley, Jr. and Al Masini, who became my business partner in 'Lifestyles of the Rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-leach/i-developed-the-pilot-for-entertainment-tonight-with-jack-haley-jr/) [Robin Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-leach/) > [“Actually there were only two forms of existence, I reflected: one that was tied to a place and one that wasn't. Both had always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/actually-there-were-only-two-forms-of-existence-i-reflected-one-that/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [I am falsely accused, without proof, of using my position for personal profit. Many who accuse me have lifestyles and spending habits that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-falsely-accused-without-proof-of-using-my-position-for-personal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Twenty20 is cricket on speed. In an era of hectic lifestyles and falling attention spans, it gives spectators more drama and intensity in three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikas-swarup/twenty20-is-cricket-on-speed-in-an-era-of-hectic-lifestyles-and/) [Vikas Swarup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikas-swarup/) > [It's pretty obvious that Western lifestyles which rely on gigantic amounts of electricity use up far more resources than a subsistence-based life. A little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/it-s-pretty-obvious-that-western-lifestyles-which-rely-on-gigantic/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) ## More by Lily Tomlin > [If truth is beauty, how come no one has their hair done in a library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/if-truth-is-beauty-how-come-no-one-has-their-hair-done-in-a-library/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [“So if you've had a good time tonight, or if you've had a good time any night, for gosh sake's why not drop a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/so-if-you-ve-had-a-good-time-tonight-or-if-you-ve-had-a-good-time-any/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [“Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/forgiveness-means-giving-up-all-hope-for-a-better-past/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [I bought a box of animal crackers, but there was nothing inside. They'd eaten each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/i-bought-a-box-of-animal-crackers-but-there-was-nothing-inside-they-d/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [Wouldn't it be great if we all grew up to be what we wanted to be? The world would be full of nurses, firemen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/wouldn-t-it-be-great-if-we-all-grew-up-to-be-what-we-wanted-to-be-the/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [You know being relevant or coming up with something interesting, funny to say about what's current is just as hard as it might ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/you-know-being-relevant-or-coming-up-with-something-interesting-funny/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [I wanted to be a stage actress. I wanted to be a New York actress and have a community with other actors. I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/i-wanted-to-be-a-stage-actress-i-wanted-to-be-a-new-york-actress-and/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [We have reason to believe that man first walked upright to free his hands for masturbation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/we-have-reason-to-believe-that-man-first-walked-upright-to-free-his/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [We don't care. We don't have to. We're the phone company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/we-don-t-care-we-don-t-have-to-we-re-the-phone-company/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [No matter how cynical I get, I can't keep up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/no-matter-how-cynical-i-get-i-can-t-keep-up/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [In the depths of the night, fear grips my heart. It paralyzes my mind. But most of all, I feel very, very alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/in-the-depths-of-the-night-fear-grips-my-heart-it-paralyzes-my-mind/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [“I always wondered why somebody didn't do something about that. And then I realized I was somebody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/i-always-wondered-why-somebody-didn-t-do-something-about-that-and/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [Sometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/sometimes-i-worry-about-being-a-success-in-a-mediocre-world/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [And yet humanity is so not evolved that how can you expect anything absolutely major to happen? Look how long, we move ahead in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/and-yet-humanity-is-so-not-evolved-that-how-can-you-expect-anything/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [The whole idea of being in captivity in such limited space, especially in a zoo, causes elephants to suffer. They develop all kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/the-whole-idea-of-being-in-captivity-in-such-limited-space-especially/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) [Explore all 135 Lily Tomlin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) ## More Consumers quotes > [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/) [Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/) > [Eventually the consumer will come to appreciate the editorial point of view of every different brand. User-generated content without editorial oversight will simply be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eisner/eventually-the-consumer-will-come-to-appreciate-the-editorial-point/) [Michael Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eisner/) > [I've always considered making it legal for Americans to import their prescription drugs a free-trade issue. Imports create competition and keep domestic industry more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-grassley/i-ve-always-considered-making-it-legal-for-americans-to-import-their/) [Chuck Grassley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-grassley/) > [“In a world where consumers had limited choice, you needed to compete for locations,” says Ross, who went on to cofound eCommera, a British…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-stone/in-a-world-where-consumers-had-limited-choice-you-needed-to-compete/) [Brad Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-stone/) > [The capitalistic social order, therefore, is an economic democracy in the strictest sense of the word. In the last analysis, all decisions are dependent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-capitalistic-social-order-therefore-is-an-economic-democracy-in/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is it is what consumers tell each other it is. - Scott Cook,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-cook/a-brand-is-no-longer-what-we-tell-the-consumer-it-is-it-is-what/) [Scott Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-cook/) > [Now that I'm more middle class, I have access to consumer goods. I do enjoy feminine frippery, feminine doo-da, stuff like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/now-that-i-m-more-middle-class-i-have-access-to-consumer-goods-i-do/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Why is Caterpillar bad if we create a new job in India or China to receive U.S. exports? It makes no sense to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-oberhelman/why-is-caterpillar-bad-if-we-create-a-new-job-in-india-or-china-to/) [Douglas R. Oberhelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-oberhelman/) > [America always put forth this phony melting pot theory, but it's a reality now. They couldn't accomplish the melting pot economically; they couldn't accomplish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/america-always-put-forth-this-phony-melting-pot-theory-but-it-s-a/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [Gaming provides us with some very good signals about consumers and what they're interested in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/gaming-provides-us-with-some-very-good-signals-about-consumers-and/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [As consumers adopt crypto, we hope that they'll also be interested in trading equities and options.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baiju-bhatt/as-consumers-adopt-crypto-we-hope-that-they-ll-also-be-interested-in/) [Baiju Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baiju-bhatt/) > [Metaphor isn't just a fancy turn of speech. It shapes our thoughts and feelings, reaches out to grasp new experience, and even binds our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-richardson/metaphor-isn-t-just-a-fancy-turn-of-speech-it-shapes-our-thoughts-and/) [James Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-richardson/) > [Consumer wants can have bizarre, frivolous, or even immoral origins, and an admirable case can still be made for a society that seeks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/consumer-wants-can-have-bizarre-frivolous-or-even-immoral-origins-and/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Many of us are alarmed at the skyrocketing cost of medical care, including patients, who are the consumers. However, medical malpractice is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-baca/many-of-us-are-alarmed-at-the-skyrocketing-cost-of-medical-care/) [Joe Baca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-baca/) > [TARIFF, n. A scale of taxes on imports, designed to protect the domestic producer against the greed of his consumer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/tariff-n-a-scale-of-taxes-on-imports-designed-to-protect-the-domestic/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) [Browse all 1,606 Consumers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are people with lives, not consumers with lifestyles.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lily Tomlin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/we-are-people-with-lives-not-consumers-with-lifestyles/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Consumers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/we-are-people-with-lives-not-consumers-with-lifestyles/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/lily-tomlin-3278_consumers_we-are-people-with-lives-not-consumers-w_686054.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/lily-tomlin-3278_consumers_we-are-people-with-lives-not-consumers-w_686054.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/lily-tomlin-3278_consumers_we-are-people-with-lives-not-consumers-w_686054.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are people with lives, not consumers with lifestyles.” — Lily Tomlin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lily Tomlin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are people with lives, not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/we-are-people-with-lives-not-consumers-with-lifestyles/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/we-are-people-with-lives-not-consumers-with-lifestyles/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```