Materialism: Society Infatuation Or Mindless Distraction

[lenguy]

The idea of materialism, something that some people take very seriously and some others are completely unaware of. Materialism is the philosophical theory that matter is the only reality, nothing else in the physical world as more meaning that materialistic possession. Ethical and spiritual meaning are inappreciable when speaking in the tongue of a materialistic ideology.

In this day and age, especially when watching television you are constantly bombarded by products and new material or the latest gadget that is seemingly a "must own". Everywhere you go there is a price tag on almost everything and people eat it up. People tend to think that nothing is more important than your money and the things you are able to purchase with it, money buys happiness right? Yet some people are completely oblivious to this and how it plays a part in their day to day lives. Sure, some things are essential such as housing, food, clothing along with other things. But there are so many things that are utterly useless in our day to day lives and people go ape shit over these little trends. I'll give you an example, this winter alone I've witnessed countless pet owners buy their dog or cat and winter coat..even matching booties to go alone with it. It hit me like a ton of bricks...how obsessed with your pet do you have to be to actually purchase something as ridiculous as this? Everybodys doing it! 10-15 years ago pets got along fine without the need to be put through this, they got along fine, now all of a sudden people are crying animal cruelty if not properly protected from the winter chill. People spending money for the shake of spending money I guess. I in no way see this as a crisis, people are free to do what they want and decide what is most important to them in life. Materialism has always been around Its just a movement I've seen increase for people this generation.

However, you won't believe some of the things people will buy just to satisfy their lust for happiness valued in materialistic ownership. These days people just have to own things. Buy the latest gadget like everybody else, or the latest trend in clothing in order to try and stay relevant among peers. It has become an obsession in today's society and many people don't realize this, we are all guilty of this at some point or another, so I ask.

What is your take on materialism and what are some of your experiences with it?

Have you ever been guilty of defaulting yourself to impulsive buying,purchasing things you know you don't really need? If so, what and why?

Do you find materialism important to you in anyway? Or is it something you tend to ignore?

Is materialism politically, socially and ethically correct? Or are people free to decide what important to them even if you may not agree?

 

[El Rev sXe]

Good questions.

First of all let me say that materialism is closely tied to consumerism. Let's first draw the difference. Materialism is what you said, having the new phone, ipod, TV, clothing etc. Consumerism has that but also, snacks for example. Snacks aren't good for your health and you don't eat them because you're hungry. You eat them watching a soccer match, a wrestling PPV etc..

Being that said, consumerism is one of the classic flaws of moderns civilisations (most of the cases the really really capitalist ones like the United States). Materialism and consumerism is feed by the society itself, it's a vicious circle. The medias plays a big role here. You see it on TV, on newspapers, on the street, where you work/study etc... The society is constantly bombed with any kind of publicity. And then the circle begins: someone sees that specific publicity and goes to buy whatever it is (shoes, gadget it doesn't matter). Then this person tells or shows to his direct circle (family and friends) this new thing and someone is going to like that same thing and is going to buy it. Then the company sees the production and start marketing even more initiating the circle once again. I must note that the main audience are the teenagers.

What is your take on materialism and what are some of your experiences with it?

I hate it. People becomes hateful. As you said it why the fuck dogs needs boots. What for? Is fucking idiotic. Due to global warming in some cases where there isn't normal climate, yeah you can put something on your pets, because that ain't his climate. But boots for fuck sakes? Hell no. Sorry I got angry with that one, but I do think that materialism shows human stupidity.
I'm not going to lie, we all are in some way or another materialistics. Why we NEED an ipod? There's no point in having it. But you just need to control yourself while buying. I hadçve a cell phone that has games (for work and college ) text messages and recieves/delivers calls. Why would I need more?

Have you ever been guilty of defaulting yourself to impulsive buying,purchasing things you know you don't really need? If so, what and why?

I think I already answered in the first question.

Actually I think I answered your questions To summarize, we are all victims/are part of materialism, it's impossible to not being however I think we must control it.

 

[Ultra Awesome]

What is your take on materialism and what are some of your experiences with it?

Mind boggling. It amazes me how people just buy things without caring about if they actually need it at all. I've seen it plenty of times. These people (especially women) see something and right away start to crave it saying that they need it even though, they really don't. "I have to buy these shoes because they match my sweater"; "This shirt looks so pretty on me, but I think I'm going to only use it for tomorow." These are but two of the most common phrases that I hear all the time. And to be honest, it annoys the fuck out of me.

Have you ever been guilty of defaulting yourself to impulsive buying,purchasing things you know you don't really need? If so, what and why?

Not really. I partake in a job in the summer working with my uncle going around and painting houses. For a weekend's worth of work, I gain up to $200. Now, multiplying that by about 8 weeks, in the summer I gained a total of about $1600. And of all that money, I still have about $1,100 left.

I only spend money on things that I really need. Exceptions are things such as boirthday presents and Christmas presents (and minor fast food here and there). But besides that, I don't go around spending like I have a bottomless pit of money.

At one point, I was a victim of spending money for the fuck of it, but over time, I learned to hold on to my money and only use it when necessary.

Is materialism politically, socially and ethically correct? Or are people free to decide what important to them even if you may not agree?

I guess, politically, it can be viewed as correct. After all, the more you spend, the better it is for the economy to stabalize. However, in terms of sociall and ethically, I honestly don't care. If people want to be idiots and buy things for no particualr reason, then let them be. After all,, it's not hurting anyone's wallet but their own. Although, with that said, I will say the attitude some of these people have are indeed annoying.