According to the text by John De Graff affluenza is “a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more” (p.2). Our society has developed an insatiable appetite to want more and more. The worst of this group is the children and teens of today. Advertisers are focusing their attention on to children because they are so easily influenced and know how to get what they want from their parents. It’s like Madonna said “I’m a material girl, living in a material world” (p.54). It’s not really the children’s fault because they are what they see and what they have been taught. Now-a-days you don’t even have to leave your couch to go shopping. With a couple clicks of your mouse you can feel that amazing feeling of owning something and being better then your neighbors. Well that is until that feeling leaves and you need to do it again and again to get that shopping high. Some people even travel across numerous states to bigger and better shopping malls. “Listen to that voice inside your head: shop, shop, shop” (p. 17). Shopping is seen as therapy to many. Retail therapy is the new way to feel better about your self until your credit limit is reached. Then next thing you know thousands of Americans are in drowning in credit card debt. Everyone is trying to “keep up with the Joneses” that no one realizes how much they are really hurting themselves. The most amazing thing to me is how far some people will really go with it. “According to the Guinness Book of World Records, one American now has a whopping 1,497 credit cards, a dubious honor” (p. 19). What does a person do with that many credit cards? How many years worth of debt is that person in now? Our goals and dreams seem to be distorted. When children are asked what they want when they are older you hear them say things like I want to be rich, to have lots of cars, but fewer and fewer times do you hear about them wanting to help people. The problem today is that we no longer know how to be happy or to enjoy the simple things. Everything is about work and money. “Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for, in order to get to the job that you need so you can pay for clothes, car and the house that you leave empty all day in order to live in it” (p.36). So what are we really living for? Are we too obsessed with more, bigger, and better to realize how much happier we would be with out worrying if your up on the latest fashion.
Today`s American consumers have the idea that more is better. People think that if you own three cars your better than the other guy who owns two, as you stated the view of consumers has become very distorted. The simple things in life like owning a house and a car has transformed into owning a mansion and two other houses in the tropics with five luxurious cars sitting in the five car garage that is attached to an enormous house. Americans have been consumed by competition, they want more than what their neighbors and friends have, they want the newest and latest fashions and gadgets. Consumers have become obsessed with the material things in life they want to be known as that person who has the best of the best, even if they struggle to afford those luxurious items.
ReplyDeleteAly Palumbo, Section 80
Consumers continue to want what their neighbors have, but sometimes that still doesn’t satisfy them. The “American Dream” is no longer the simple idea of having a family and owning a home. It is about the amount of bedrooms and garages that are in that home. People are also concerned with having “better” furniture then their neighbor or having the “best” furniture in general. Sadly, many believe that what you own is what defines you. If only everyone could be happy with the little things in life and the many things we take for granted. Health, love, and happiness should be more than enough. Growing up, magazines and my friends promoted my idea of just the opposite. If I couldn’t have the newest American Girl doll, or the cutest new accessory, I felt like it was all over. I felt like I could not keep up with my friends. Now I regret those feelings and I became aware of what is important in life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement that shopping is a form of therapy. At 25 years old, I am guilty of it myself. I make impulse buys and feel that I need to have the newest cell phone, Ugg boots, or in general a new outfit. I can just surf the internet looking at all the new fall clothes and just want to click away, but I learning the hard way restrained my actions. I was approved for credit cards at the young age of 18 years old. I had no control and purchased what I wanted and liked. I soon found myself in credit card debt. It took me some time to bail myself out. Being surrounded by friends, family, and clients purchasing away made the process harder to deal with. At this time I felt I had affluenza “…a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more” (p.2). I highly agree with this definition as it perfectly explains one of the biggest problems American consumers have. Buying a few items at the time made me “feel better and happier.” Finally, I paid all of my credit cards off and if I choose to buy anything it is in cash. I am saving for a better car, not a “luxury” car. I think it more important to purchase what you need not necessarily what you want to show off. I agree with you when you say that “…Americans have been consumed by competition, they want more than what their neighbors and friends have, they want the newest and latest fashions and gadgets.” Consumers are highly caught up in a materialistic way of life and as I said feel that this is what defines them.