The Flaw with Materialism

An article written by Carolyn Gregoire, "The Psychology Of Materialism, And Why It's Making You Unhappy" focuses on the idea that materialism is a bad thing in American culture today and the amount of possessions you have does not relate to your overall happiness.

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/15/psychology-materialism_n_4425982.html

SOURCE: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/

Many people would agree that the saying “money doesn’t buy you happiness” is true, although as far as our American culture is concerned, we seem to think money does buy us happiness. Especially growing up in a place like Hinsdale, money is a key factor in determining happiness. People in this town may think that if they don’t have the newest iPhone, or their parents don’t own a Tesla, then they don’t fit in and they must not be happy. However, this whole idea is wrong. As much as a person may want to judge others based on how much money they have, it doesn’t matter. You could be the richest person in the world, but that certainly does not mean you are happy.

According to an article written by Carolyn Gregoire and the huffington post, “Once our basic needs are met, wealth makes very little difference to one's overall well-being and happiness.” It is clearly evident that people across the world can be very happy without having excessive material possessions. American culture, especially around the holidays, has grown used to buying and buying even though they really don’t need anything. This article even points out the fact that people on Black Friday are killed and injured because everyone is so obsessed with buying, and buying things at extreme low prices is even more appealing to these shoppers. People are buying constantly, but in reality the happiness one may receive from buying a new expensive dress for example, is only temporary and does not contribute to overall well-being and happiness. “The materialistic values that consumer cultures support may be to blame. Those who pursue wealth and material possessions tend to be less satisfied and experience fewer positive emotions each day. On the other hand, research has found that life satisfaction -- surprise, surprise -- is correlated with having less materialistic values.” No matter how many materials a person owns, the facts don’t lie.

Convincing yourself that you are happy because you have everything you want and you can spend recklessly is the wrong mindset. I believe that I have everything I need and more, which I am very thankful for, however this does not make me any happier than someone living with just what they need to survive. Overall, the most important thing that contributes to a person’s happiness, in my opinion, is having lifelong friendships and family to support you while doing what you love. Gregoire also notes that, “It seems that it may not be the money itself that leads to dissatisfaction, but rather, the continual striving for greater wealth and more possessions that is linked to unhappiness.” The next time I ask my parents to buy me more clothes or a new computer I will think about the impact it has on me and how much I truly need it. Happiness is something that everyone can have, as long as materialism is out of the question. In my next blog post, I plan to address the science behind being happy and what circumstances make a person happy.