The problem with consumerism is that it carries a false promise: if you buy the things you want, you’re happy. This promise is based on an idea that was pushed after World War II and has settled definitively at the base of our society: happiness is intimately linked to the capacity for consumption, that is, to the money there is to buy.
In this sense, happiness is the result of a purchase; If you have a more powerful TV, you’ll be happier. or, if your clothes are more expensive, you’ll feel more beautiful. And if you buy the car that just launched, it’ll be more respectable. Worse, it turns out to be the truth, at least on the surface. not because it’s really true, but because those who appreciate these ideas make them come true.
- In other words.
- If you think a costume gives you more dignity.
- You’ll feel less worthy when wearing simple clothes.
- If you think the latest TV increases your chances of entertainment.
- You’ll suffer until you have it in your living room.
- And so on.
In any case, you realize that this way of thinking is wrong when you acquired what you thought was so essential a month ago and you still feel bored, unhappy or useless, then the cycle is repeated.
The truth is that consumer objects free us from a big problem: giving meaning to our lives, helping us look out, rather than exploring within ourselves, it’s easier to think about how to buy a watch than to determine whether actions we perform have value and meaning in the world.
Today’s society, in fact, treats people who wear designer clothes differently or who arrive in a luxury car, it is common that without exchanging a word and not knowing what kind of person he is, he is immediately treated with special considerations or at least with Many assume that we should approach those who have money and , in turn, money has become a guarantee of respect.
The same goes for the other way around. Those who seem simple are easier to ignore, may even be denied access to certain places or subjected to loud jokes or comments quietly. Everyone wants to be treated with consideration, so it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that to achieve it. this is enough (and at the same time essential) with shopping and changing clothes.
The fault with this mechanism is that it is highly depreciable. If you take off your expensive clothes, you will feel humiliated again; If you use it, you get your value back. Respecting yourself becomes a disguise and depends entirely on others. When you agree to play under these conditions, you agree to enter into a self-deprecating logic. worthless in yourself. That is the danger.
One of the most disturbing aspects of compulsive buying is that they follow a pattern similar to any addiction, plus they are likely to provide a well-being similar to that that that every addict gets when he consumes the substance on which he depends. provides less and less happiness and requires more and more purchases to appear.
Constant buying is for people who feel unhappy and experience an inner void for those who find no relief. The purchase acts as a temporary antidote to this sense of insignificance.
In any case, happiness is not there. Several studies show that the situations that bring true happiness are more related to experiences and less to objects, an experience upsets your inner world and makes you feel more alive, while the purchase, being an experience, gives you a feeling superficial and fleeting. enthusiasm.
You hardly ever remember the moment you bought something, in the meantime, there is always in your memory and heart the memory of a kiss of love, a funny situation or the day you were congratulated for doing a good job.
What gives you the most happiness is to feel intimately connected with the world and with others, this is achieved by participating in projects in your community, being an active member of the couple and family, sharing time with friends, taking an interest in the world in other words, happiness is a consequence of embracing the world and life.