Consumerism (Essay Sample)

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Psychological Effects of Ownership
Can money and property ownership buy happiness? Ownership has its own magical way of creating happiness through its various properties. Happiness on the other hand is known to create resilience, long life and good performance in various activities. Happy people are therefore believed to live longer in comparison to depressed individuals. Diener puts emphasis in his book, Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological wealth, that happiness is comprised of four important ingredients.
Thinking right is the first aspect with the second one being the setting of realistic expectations. The third aspect according to Diener is work and health. The fourth aspect is of interest in this paper regarding the making of psychological wealth. Psychological wealth is not dictated by money or the amount of wealth an individual possesses. Wealth is therefore not a determinant of happiness based on wealth people not believed to be happier than poor people are. This paper therefore seeks to examine the psychological effects of ownership, and evaluating the effect of money on an individual’s happiness.
Despite the ongoing wealth acquisitions and wage increases of citizens in the United States, its citizens are not any happier with research revealing that only 1 percent of the United States citizens claim to be happy. In 2010, the proportion of joyful and thriving people hit a new low in over forty years. The wealthy difference between countries with thriving economies such as the United States and the third world countries like those from the Middle East and Africa have created a race based on the difference in wealth of the individuals. The situation is however not reflected in the psychological wealth with the gap disappearing with each passing day. Historically, men have been known to be less happy than their female counterparts despite the fact are that men are known to be wealthier than women are. The whites on the other hand have historically been known to be wealthier and happy than the non-whites. The wealthy gap has been on the rise but the happiness gap is narrowing provided the basic needs are met.
Consumerism does not mean that extra wealth will lead to happiness. The culture of consumerism is so popular in the United States that it has reached a critical level where individuals are extravagant and consistently and continuously spend. It has been revealed that an average American woman purchases 52 new clothes in a year, which translates to a new cloth each week. All these clothes do contribute nor add any value in the lives psychologically. The tendency to purchase expensive commodities in place of cheap commodities of similar quality and satisfaction means that the happiness gap is disappearing.
A less wealthy individual who purchases a $5 mat will receive the same level of satisfaction to an American woman who purchases a hand-woven $95 mat. What is commonly referred to hyper-consumption has been at the center of the brainwashing with attitudes, values practices and habits reflecting the wealthy people’s culture of addiction. Consumerism has ensured that people are unable to lessen their exposure to the market materialism lure. Research studies have revealed that the more people watch television commercials, the more they are likely to spend. These television commercials are mainly aimed at the wealthy people meaning that their hyper-consumption behavior continues to be rooted with no increase in psychological wealth
It well known that wealth brings a sense of pride to an individual but there cliché that money does not buy happiness is highly documented. It is important to note that equality among the people cannot be established when there is a measure of wealth involved. The idea that consumerism has infested the world today has divided opinions among experts everywhere in the world today. Research studies have revealed the occupation of people with visual documentations like advertisement means they will finally end up spending much more than they anticipated. The gratifying commercials and advertisements affect both the poor and the wealthy more people watch television commercials, the more they are likely to spend. However, as explained earlier these television commercials are mainly aimed at the wealthy people this means that their hyper-consumption behavior continues to be rooted with no increase in psychological wealth. The complications involved in the effort to understand the relations between wealth or richness and power and happiness is difficult to understand since there exists a fine line separating the two variables or the two notions. The fine line dividing consumerism and the need for wealth is easily identifiable. In an article written by Jocelyn K. Glei, she believes that consumerism is killing the creativity of individuals. In the article, the author quotes a book "The story of the stuff" Annie Leonard is of the opinion that people have globally decide to abandon their natural duties as mothers, daughters, teachers, farmers and any other natural duty have been brain-washed by the habitual behavior of shopping without any action of trying to manifest control. The behavior of Consumerism is a factor that means that extra wealth does not always lead to happiness. Consumerism according to Jocelyn’s article is extremely addictive just like any other impulse activity. The author outlines the reason for this addictiveness is that consumerism stimulates the same part of the brain that is associated with the generation of great ideas by great people. This is greatly stimulated by the idea of trial and error method, example when an individual is shopping for clothes they will constantly change the clothes in an effort to find the best fit. A neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp attempts to explain this addiction by referring to the addiction as "seeking”, the act of trying to satisfy the seeking urge. The neuroscientist emphasizes that physical needs are not the only things that can lead to addiction by also the desire for humans to get abstract rewards. The scientist emphasizes that the action of getting thrilled by the world of ideas coupled with the idea of making intellectual connections breeds the need to establish and satisfy the needs. Just as other drugs cause addiction, consumerism also does that. The seeking system is fueled by the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is the same neurotransmitter that causes the good feeling derived from the intake of drugs. Dopamine is essential in promoting a state of directed purpose and eagerness that many humans prefer to be in and strive to experience. It is evident that in the practice of consumerism individuals are seeking to maintain the creative rush that accompanies the seeking. The problem with consumerism is that it might provide satisfaction in the short term but have devastating effect in the long term. The stimulation offered by "seeking" is not effective in the long term and can have extremely negative effects.
Consumerism is dangerous trend that can lead to the collapse of vital parts of an individual’s life. Seeking to buy and buy ends up with serious implications on the financial capacities of the different individuals indulging in the consumerism. The ideology that encourages the constant acquisition of goods and services means that the society is preoccupied with constant consumption by individuals.
In an effort to understand the notion of consumerism as explained by the neuroscientist above takes some studies and explaining. Money or wealth is a mitigating factor in our life today. The capacity to control our ever-growing greed for wealth and money is becoming increasingly impossible and increasingly relentless. Consumerism incorporates the power of getting the best value for the products. According to the article written on the New York Times, "Sorry Etsy. That handmade scarf won’t Save the world" by Monica Ramos CITATION Mon15 \p 1-2 \l 1033 (Ramos 1-2). This article explains how the world has changed from individuals entirely self-sufficient to people dependent on their purchasing ability.
It is a case of people who highly appreciate the concept of hand making items, which was highly despised in the former years. In the pursuit of the understanding, the concept of Consumerism we can use this article to understand the luxury of buying hand made items contrary to the purchase of factory-manufactured items. It is understood that many individuals in the world consider the purchase of handmade items a luxury rather t...