he Psychology Of Materialism, And Why it’s Making You Unhappy Summary: In this day and age, Americans own things like cars, video games, and flat screen TVs. But is that helping them reach happiness? Huffington Post states, “The American Dream is changing to the idea of materialism.” Like the holidays, they are a perfect example of shopping; Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and also Black Friday. Examples like this, are when consumer culture comes out and families use their money to buy gifts for their kids and grandchildren. In addition, many materialistic values that consumer cultures support, play a big role in the psychology of materialism. These people who pursue wealth and material possessions tend to be less satisfied with how they …show more content…
But is that helping them reach happiness? Huffington Post states, “The American Dream is changing to the idea of materialism.” Like the holidays, they are a perfect example of shopping; Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and also Black Friday. Examples like this, are when consumer culture comes out and families use their money to buy gifts for their kids and grandchildren. In addition, many materialistic values that consumer cultures support, play a big role in the psychology of materialism. These people who pursue wealth and material possessions tend to be less satisfied with how they live their lives. The main issue here, is that the majority of Americans believe in becoming successful is easy. Becoming successful takes time and does not always work, and when these people fail at what they have been trying to grasp, they enter severe …show more content…
But is that helping them reach happiness? Huffington Post states, “The American Dream is changing to the idea of materialism.” Like the holidays, they are a perfect example of shopping; Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and also Black Friday. Examples like this, are when consumer culture comes out and families use their money to buy gifts for their kids and grandchildren. In addition, many materialistic values that consumer cultures support, play a big role in the psychology of materialism. These people who pursue wealth and material possessions tend to be less satisfied with how they live their lives. The main issue here, is that the majority of Americans believe in becoming successful is easy. Becoming successful takes time and does not always work, and when these people fail at what they have been trying to grasp, they enter severe
“I rather would be blind than then see this world in yellow, and bought and sold by kings that hammer roses into gold.” (King Midas Pg.462 Para.10) Many think that if they got what they wanted they would be happy, but if the world was all based on malterlistic things and everyone got what they wanted there would be chaos and no feelings just want and people would do crazy things to get what they want. Now a day’s people mistake malterlistic things for happiness. “The necklace”, “Ads may spur unhappy kids to embrace materialism”, And “Thrill of the chase” illustrates examples of materialism and show some base their happiness on it.
1. The main idea is not only that owning stuff is not the key to happiness, it’s also that consumers today own more than they need to thrive which directly impacts the environment. Hill illustrates the environmental impact by showing statistics of global warming today versus the past century, and how consumerism is leading to a hotter climate. Hill debunks claims of buying happiness by discussing a study where stress hormones spike to their highest when people are managing their personal belongings. Hill’s most prominent example that consumerism is not the answer is himself, as he discusses some of the most stressful times of his life being right after coming into a large sum of money and buying whatever he fancied. When Hill concludes his article, he states that “I have less—and enjoy more. My space is small. My life is big” (213).
Living a materialistic life is “associated with anxiety, depression, and broken relationships” (Materialism: a system). Seeking to acquire these fantasy based expectation will most likely end in unhappiness.
...hat materialistic attitudes are harmful to one's well-being. “The psychological perspective attributes the development of materialistic values to family circumstances that create stress and self esteem issues that promote materialistic values,” (Hung Vu Nguyen.) Many people in our culture attribute material goods to personal achievement. Truth rings true with Bertrand Russell’s statement “It is the preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else that prevents us from living freely and nobly.” Even at young ages children are competing and bragging to one another of who has more possessions. Past studies by Rindfleisch say that materialism developed over time as a response to stress due to family issues such as divorce, separation, and loss of loved ones. Materialism leads consumers to put a disproportionate amount of their resources into acquiring goods.
When The American Dreams Collide When life has constrictions and restrictions, conspicuous consumption may not be the appropriate thing to do. As stated in the online dictionary, it can be defined as the expenditure on or consumption of luxuries on a lavish scale in the attempt to enhance one’s prestige. In other words, items and materials such as clothing, cars, and houses are materialistic pieces of matter that can make you more of an influence. The American dream is best defined as equal opportunity for all. The American dream is also best defined as the life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
...at the American culture places economic success at the pinnacle of social desirability, without listing legitimate ways for attaining the desired goal (Merton 672-682). Today, the American Dream no longer reflects the dream Adams had, but instead, the idea that one can only call themselves truly successful if they have become rich, regardless of the way they got there. The American Dream does not guarantee happiness, but rather the pursuit of it, but with the media strongly persuading people that money guarantees happiness, people are encouraged to do whatever it takes, even it means disregarding their morals, so that they achieve ‘success.’ The inability to achieve this goal often leads people to destructive, and ultimately life-threatening criminal behavior as their feelings of anxiety and frustration over this vision of the “American Dream” get the best of them.
Through the course of change in the world- either through prosperity, capitalism or greed- people have lost focus with the real meaning of 'the American dream'. It is no longer the gamely aspirations of living life to the fullest, providing a better life for yourself and or others; instead, a pursuit for those materialistic aspects in life.
Living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, our culture has naturally valued prestige and luxuries. We admire fancy items and often judge other individuals by the clothes they wear, the car they drive, and the schools that they attend. The “American Dream” serves as a motivational factor for people; believing that hard work and dedication can bring “success” to ones’ life. Although this is partially true, it is difficult for individuals in the middle class and lower class.
Of all the strange beasts that have come slouching into the 20th century, none has been more misunderstood, more criticized, and more important than materialism. Who but fools, toadies, hacks, and occasional loopy libertarians have ever risen to its defense? Yet the fact remains that while materialism may be the most shallow of the 20th century's various -isms, it has been the one that has ultimately triumphed. The world of commodities appears so antithetical to the world of ideas that it seems almost heresy to point out the obvious: most of the world most of the time spends most of its energy producing and consuming more and more stuff. The really interesting question may be not why we are so materialistic, but why we are so unwilling to acknowledge
In 1931 when the American Dream arose, Americans believed that the harder one worked, the more one would prosper (Meacham, 2012). In other words, they strongly believed that the American Dream was gaining a better, richer, happier life. Today, the American Dream is still hoping to earn a college degree, get a good job, buy a house, and start a family, but according to MetLife’s fifth annual survey, 41% of the respondents said it was about personal fulfillment, while most American’s say it is out of reach for many (White, ...
However, the perception of American Dream has changed into materialism lifestyle due to the emergence of new money everywhere. I see American Dream in this era as a product of cultural environment which has a concept of glamorous and luxurious living that brainwashed the society. The goal of the American Dream here is to live life to the fullest by partying and climbing up the social
Many argue the point that the American dream is too materialistic since we work towards the goals of acquiring feel good comforts. In fact I do not believe this is true and us as Christians should strive towards achieving our goals. There is no point to life if you are to just stay in one spot and never move. This is a topic that sparks debate often but is typically brushed off since the typical American mind set is on getting bigger and better materials.
He further shows us that the people of today are richer than their grandparents but are not happier in their lives (from National Statistics of social pathology). Even with these facts, people in the United States still believe if they had more money all of their problems would be solved, but once they reach that next income bracket they are not satisfied and try to reach the next one. Myers et al tells us, "even if being rich and famous is rewarding, no one ever claimed material success alone makes us happy. Other conditions like - family- friends- free time - have been shown to increase happiness" (Csikszentmihaly 145). therefore we must find balance in our own lives, and not just focus on making money. Instead we need friends, family and even free time, as aforementioned doing an activity you enjoy such as listening to music or
American Culture expects us to be in a constant state of happiness. This concept stems from the idea that America is the golden land, the land filled with
Material goods don’t make us happy. Acquiring things like houses and cars only have a transient effect on happiness. People’s desires for material possessions crank up at the same, or greater rate, than their salaries. Again, this means that despite considerably more luxurious possessions, people end up no happier. There’s even evidence that materialism make us less happy.