Consumerist society...

[nadinbrzezinski]

so I was talking to my niece, she is fifteen. Mind you we both share having IPODs. She asked me, what do you use yours for?

So I went on the Apps I run on it. Trust me, music is just one of the things I do with it but hardly the most important. It is a PDA, and a portable computer, and a writing instrument and of course a portable wiki and a book reader. Nowwhere in the what do you use this for is happiness involved.

Her ansewr to the same question was... I use it to be happy.

Folks as much as this is partly her parents, but mostly it is Western Society. Her statement is at the heart of consumerism. We need things to believe we are happy... and this is the heart of the problem at many levels. This is the heart of the economy. And it is amazing that a fifteen year old kid... defined it for us.

Happy New Year by the way... just an observation... and the kind of things we need to work to change. That said, realize 70% of our economy depends on consumption... and not just our economy...

Food for thought... food for thought.

[Juche]

1. She is only 15 though

I doubt she even knows what 'happiness' is in any meaningful sense of the word (the happiness that comes from meaningful activity, or an outer life that reflects your inner personality, or strong personal relationships, etc).

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. But that is the point

if you ask kids of her generation you will quickly notice that the job that started with mine has ended. These kids define happiness by stuff... and keeping up wiht the Jones even worst than we ever did. We as a society have defined success in STUFF.

[Juche]

10. It bothers me deeply when my nieces do that

They are 3 and 5, and I can tell material culture has sunken deep into them. My brother (their father) is bothered by it too. But part of me wonders how much of that will go away in their 20s.

The kids growing up today grow up in a media saturated world where ads are, at their core, written by people with an advanced knowledge of how to prey on human psychology. There are more ads and they are more sophisticated. I don't know the long term effects but I hope it goes away by the time they grow up and become adults. But I really don't know, that could just be wishful thinking on my part.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. My nephews do the same

about the same age set, actually two years ahead of yours.

It is not hi aunt, it is what did you bring?

We rarely give them gifts, the last was a family board game and they started fighting immediately over it. It is to the point where I wonder if I want to give them any gifts.

It also bothers my BIL and my sis, but the kids watch so much tv... and less than others (scary) since their parents do try to limit it. It is scary.

[greyl]

2. Heroin makes heroin addicts "happy". nt

[NMDemDist2]

3. i got an i-touch for Xmas and i have no idea what to do with it

i made a shopping list today

i have a few CDs loaded but never listen to it

how do you read books on it?

edit to add, it sure doesn't make me happy. just mostly guilty that i have a $200 bejeweled game.....

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. A few apps

Kindle for IPHONE. There are some free books, but it is like having a Kindle...
Stanza (great for free books, aka those that are part of Project Guttenberg, such as oh Anna Karenina)
Barnes and Noble also has a free book reader.
E-Reader... I think I have exchausted the book readers for it.

I also love trunk notes (portable wiki, and easy to link with my computer)

I use mind map as a mindmap, and outlining tool. Oh and of course I also have an office suite on it, and auteureist for writing. I have a few others that I love, and use every day... top among them Wunderradio... you got a wifi, it is almost like having satellite radio

[NMDemDist2]

7. it's not a phone and we don't have 3G within 200 miles of here

an office suite might be nice but again, don't know what i'd use it for.

i'll check out the book readers tho, thanks

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Mine is not a phone either

I use SKYPE on it though to talk to my mother over the wireless.

You will need headphones with a mike though

[NMDemDist2]

29. thanks for Stanza

i'm already into chapter 3 of Princess of Mars LOL

[nadinbrzezinski]

34. Oh you welcome,

as a book reader it shines.

Oh and both Stanza and kindle you can highlight and annotate.

[pscot]

31. Reading Tolstoy on a 3 inch screen

is meta-irony. My 10 year old grand daughter has more stuff than she knows what to do with and is completely indifferent to most of it. She has a pocket Nintendo that she plays with, but mainly she reads. Her friends also mean a lot to her, since she has no siblings.

[nadinbrzezinski]

33. Took a bunch of books that way on a trip

they weighed what 3 oz instead of pounds?

:-)

And good for the kid to read.

[MadMaddie]

5. I had a similar conversation with my mom today who will be 70

in April.

My parents have never had good money management skills, my mom feels like she has to by consumer goods to make me and my sister happpy. She asked did I wear pearls? I said "What?" She said "pearls", I said no I don't so don't waste money on crap I don't need and won't use. My mom has more useless crap around her house that she has purchased through "FingerHut" and she will never use the useless crap.

My parents are an example of Americans that think having an abundance of consumer goods will bring happiness.

The from 17 to 70....consumerism is destroying America.

Happy New Year!

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. I use my mom's pealrs, but those are more of a family heirloom

they were my grand mothers.

But I get what you say exactly. We use those only on VERY SPECIAL occasions, like oh my wedding day oh eleven years ago.

I have a feeling though that consumerism really took off in the last 20 years into full bloom that is.

Of course feeling does not mean reality, and for that I'd need a good social studies paper or two.

[lastliberalintexas]

11. I actually know someone whose child has a game system

but this person won't spend money on books because he thinks it's a waste to spend money on something you'll only use once. That is what we are dealing with in our society.

Anyway, yes, we are an incredibly materialistic society in general. It's only anecdotal, but I can't tell you how many people with whom I am acquainted who could count Confessions of a Shopaholic as a therapy session. So many people seem to feel they are leading boring, meaningless lives that they resort to buying things to make them happy. :(

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. I am sure a sociologist or two has done research on this

but in a world with diminishing resources we need to figure out how to change this dynamic

Oh and we do have a game system, that we also use to watch movies... these days mostly to watch movies.

[tabbycat31]

14. I did a complete 180 back in 2005

and it's so relieving, but I'm still trying to get out from under all the stuff I accumulated (working retail and having access to clearance racks did not help one bit). I have some stuff in storage at my parents house, but most is here in a much smaller place. I've probably given over 50 bags to the local thrift store in 2009 alone, and 2010 will have even more for them (a lot of that is weight loss too).

I regret spending all that $$ instead of investing it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. We save... to the point that when I got my POD (to replace a PDA)

we didn't have to put it on credit. I realize we are the exception truly, not the rule. And saving is a hard habit to acquire in the pressure cooker that is consumption.

Hell gotten so bad that I only buy clothes when they seem to be falling apart.

:-)

[tabbycat31]

25. I am just glad I discovered it at 25 not 45

or later.

Do I like electronic toys? Absolutely, and I just got a new one for Christmas (camera). I know I'll get a new one for my birthday (as my cellphone is long due for a replacement.) I've bought clothes lately because I barely have any that fit me, but instead of buying 4 pairs of pants I buy one (I will need a business suit soon though).

I do browse stores occasionally and put items back saying "what do I need this for?"

[nadinbrzezinski]

36. "what do I need this for?"

Yep, happened to me recently. Got a hand bag as a gift, and went... hmm I like this one...

Then went... nope, have enough don't need another one.

Granted, it was a nice bag, fair trade and great price. But darn it, I got enough.

As to clothes, I had to buy more than one pair of pants. lost lots of weight and literally they were falling apart.

:-)

I'm eyeing a blouse, next week maybe, after conure destroyed one of mine... bad, bad parrot.

[Selatius]

16. She's the product of advertising campaigns over the course of her life.

The thing about modern marketing is that it is geared towards making people without a certain product or service feel like they are missing something or are in need of something or in a lesser state compared to those who have the product or service. Demand generation is what they call it. In the hands of people with a moral compass, it can do a lot of good in this world. You could, for instance, come up with an advertising campaign that makes modern high-speed mass transit something Americans would want for themselves, like this video for instance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB6tgKT-u1Q

But in the hands of people who have no moral compass, it can be used to turn a nation of active citizens into passive consumers. We are all consumers to a certain extent. The question is do we allow it to dominate our lifestyle. Is it our sole lifestyle or is it just a part of it?

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. and I should have put this in the OP... not just in the US

but you are correct.

Me I define my life by what I do, not what I own.

[Selatius]

18. I haven't had the TV on in a long time in my house, and that's probably deprogramming me.

I feel that the longer a population goes without much access to television, the more free-wheeling and free-thinking it becomes. So many people use TV as a cue on what is in style or not in style. So many opinion "leaders" on TV. It can be so easy to simply let those guys do the "thinking" for you. Marx was wrong when he said religion was an opiate; he didn't live to see modern television.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Actually TV makes religion oh that much more powerful

:-)

Every so often, just for the heck of it, I do tune to the 700 Club... or Conservative News Network... apart of the trip through the rabbit hole, it makes religion that much more dangerous. That is one reason I go through the rabbit hole. It is critical to see where they are going this week...

You could also argue that TV is a form of religion, and so is consumerism.

[Selatius]

28. Yeah, I could agree with that, sadly. That, and hate time radio.

You cannot drive through rural country without finding Rush Limbaugh on the dial somewhere or Sean Hannity.

[Odin2005]

20. Music making one happy is a bad thing?

Not liking consumerism does not mean having to live like an ascetic.

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. No, not the music... the machine itself is making her happy

the ITEM.

Ergo if she did not have it, she'd not be happy.

And for the record she is not the only kid of her generation that I've heard make that comment. THE THING is at the heart of happiness... not the music... not what you can do with it. THE ITEM.

[Double T]

21. Be HAPPY she is using an ipod to be happy and not something like drugs.

Maybe she likes all the communications with her friends and listening to her favorite music. Sorry, but I think YOU have got this all wrong about your niece. I'm the first one to get up on my soapbox and rant about insatiably greedy American consumers where lots is never enough. ipods do make you happy if you use them for happy things. Oh, are you talking about ipods or iphones?

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. She is talking of the ITEM ITSELF not what you can do with it

and she is not the only one in her generation that I hear saying this. Moreover, she lives in Mexico City, not in the US. So this is the spread of this sick culture.

[salvorhardin]

24. While I don't know your niece, I think you're not giving her enough credit

Maybe she worded it badly, but perhaps her ipod does make her happy. I can understand that. I love listening to music. Music plays a huge role in my life. It cheers me up, it helps me relax and, from time to time, it even provides inspiration. Other people have similar relationships to everything from woodworking to 1970s sitcoms. And look at all the ways you use your ipod. Are you telling me that of all the various activities you perform with your ipod that none of them make you happy? Maybe the things your niece uses her ipod for, whether it be listening to music, watching videos, reading books or playing games make her happy. So in that sense, she does use her ipod to be happy. What's wrong with that?

Like I said, I don't know your niece. Perhaps she's a totally materialistic jerk who gets her parents to buy tons of junk for her that she never uses. And perhaps she's confusing being distracted with being happy. But I think getting all moralistic because a teen age girl uses a media player to make her happy is a bit much. Humans are tool makers and users by nature. Is it any surprise that we have happiness tools too?

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. I see her statement as the end result of massive marketing

and it is the ITEM... and that is a problem, at least in my view, and she is not alone.

[Grey]

27. My sister uses her IPOD so she doesn't

have to think. It's a way to block out any stray thoughts that may worry her.
Any worry about her kids, her job, just crank up the noise. She wants someone to invent ear pieces for wearing in bed.
The night and the quiet really bother her, "but thats what sleeping pills are for...."
She says.

[Romulox]

32. You really might want to recommend "Farhenheit 451" to her.

The main character's wife escaped reality by constantly having a "seashell" (earbuds) in her ears--including in bed IIRC. She overdoses on sleeping pills early on into the book.

[asdjrocky]

30. The way to have everything you want?

Want everything you have.

[varelse]

35. Now that we all know what your niece "uses to be happy"

what makes you happy?

[nadinbrzezinski]

37. Having my hubby at home

and a good relationship with him... as well as my sister in town, and seeing my nephews grow up

But really not stuff.