We Shop For Happiness In America

Shop for happiness! When it comes to the topic of shopping, most of us will readily agree that Americans are experts. We shop for necessities such as food and clothing but many times we shop emotionally. We are looking for the buyer’s high that creates a feeling of excitement and happiness. According to the World Happiness Report Update 2016, the United States is not on the top 10 list of happiest countries worldwide.111 If Americans are shopping for happiness, why are Americans unhappy. There is a movement that is spreading in America that encourages a minimalistic lifestyle. The minimalists believe that Americans obsession with buying and the abundance of possessions correlate to additional stress, reduced free-time, and dissatisfaction

For the economy to recover after the Depression and WWII, mass consumption was critical. Historian, Lizabeth Cohen explained that Americans were praised as patriotic citizens for contributing to the ultimate success of the American way of life. The good buyer was encouraged that “more, newer and better” was the best for the country.2222 In the 1950s, sales of TVs skyrocket and advertisers could now reach buyers through TV in addition to magazines and newspapers. Advertisers for the first time also created ads targeted specifically for teens and children . ADAGE This was also the first time that teens and children were targeted. Today, children are influenced by advertising, cartoon characters and peers. Conversely, children influence their parents to buy in abundance and parents typically do to make the children happy. A shocking statistic is that the United States has 3.1% of the world’s children, but consumes 40% of the world’s toys.,333333 As advertising connects with buyers on an emotional level creating an unrealistic expectation that a product is life-changing. Americans are encouraged to want more and more. Not surprising, the United States is the leader in consumable goods spending over $380 billion dollars on cars, clothes, gadgets and odds and ends.44444 In “Success Intelligence,” (2005) Robert Holden wrote, “The rise of consumerism has certainly influenced our thinking about happiness and

It is a social activity for many families. There are those that camp outside a store for days wanting to buy the latest gadget. Does the item bring that much happiness? For many people, the wanting sometimes brings more happiness than the actual item. Over time that coveted item no longer provides us with the same level of happiness (Thompson)6666666. For example, the food processor that was sure to ease meal prep is now dust-covered deep in the cabinet. It works the same for children. The child is begging for a toy, then it is purchased and before long, the must-have toy is discarded 10 minutes later. The house is filled with things that have lost their happiness factor and now we are stuck with too much