Possible Solutions to Materialism

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Everyone has strolled past an open window, seen something intriguing in their side view, and drooled over the thought of having it for themselves. How about walking through the aisles and calculating how much money you would have after buying a few not-so-necessary items in order to pay off the bills next week. We Americans love buying things; that is just our nature. When we look behind the scenes, is materialism really all that great for us, or is it evoking more harm than good? I analyzed this issue over a few weeks, pulling resources from not only websites, but examples in my own life. Several organizations and individuals had various amounts of thoughts to contribute towards this topic, including reporters, psychologists, authors, and hobby blog writers. One common author that I have liked referencing to over many previous papers in the past is Jean Twenge, author of Generation Me and an “in between” advocate of materialism. Throughout her book, it is troublesome to understand whether or not she is strongly for or against people continuously purchasing things. But nevertheless, she offers a plethora of different reasonings as to how materialism can affect us. Another source I referenced to, the New York Time, discusses how shopping not only influences us financially, but emotionally as well. For a source supporting the issue, multiple sites’ opinions were gathered in order to help comprehend how, including US News, TreeHuggers (a personal blog), and Huffington Post. Which side is correct, though? No one is entirely sure, but the analysis will better explain a possible solution.

The most evident portion of this topic is the financial standpoint. Do we as Americans have such an immense buying power that we must buy everythi...

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...ovie, makes money deplete quickly. It’s okay to spend some, but saving should always come first. Secondly, I love standing out from the rest of my school; that’s what being an American is all about...being you! We love being able to express ourselves in our own unique ways, and as a female programmer, I tend to be different already. It’s good to know that it’s possible to stand out and not have to buy every new item that comes out. Lastly, emotionally buying helps me feel good inside, as my family is having problems financially. I know they won’t be able to buy me nice things, so I do it myself, although I do tend to fall into that trap of endless buying to overcome to anxiety. Buying and shopping comes with it’s ups and downs, and even though Twenge addresses in Generation Me, “You feel entitled to get the best in life” (100), is the best really worth the effort?

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