How more stuff doesn’t necessarily make us happy
Picture the classic American Dream: the suburban home, the shiny cars, the lush lawn, the television glow. Ends always meet, and there is enough left over for new things and occasional trips. It is the picture-perfect snapshot of the life of a diligent nine-to-five worker.
In the 1930s, the American Dream promoted the belief that anyone, of any background, could find their own version of happiness and success through hard work.
That dream has now mutated into a desire for more novelty and novel stuff, whether it is fast food, fast fashion, or even faster internet.
“That dream has now mutated into a desire for more novelty and novel stuff…”
Emily Polak and Michael McCullough’s review in the Journal of Happiness Studies associated materialistic values with psychological insecurity and exposure to materialistic role models and media images. Those who grew up not having their essential psychological or material needs met are more likely to engage in compulsive consumerism. The same can be said of being inundated with materialistic messages in relationships and through media.
The review also found that individuals focused on acquiring material wealth exhibited reduced life satisfaction and wellbeing, and increased depressive symptoms. Consequently, financial success beyond what is needed for necessities has little positive effect on happiness.
In 2005, Leaf Van Boven of the University of Colorado also found negative associations between materialism and psychological well-being. In his research, materialism has been correlated with disorders such as depression, paranoia, and narcissism. Van Boven also surveyed the value of material purchases versus experiential purchases, and people consistently rated the latter as money well-spent and more beneficial to their overall life happiness.
“If everyone lived like us, we would need 3.8 Earths.”
Keeping up a materialistic lifestyle requires more hours of work, less leisure time, and higher levels of debt and stress. The environmental costs are heavy as well. The life cycle of goods we consume is primarily linear and wasteful. Luxuries are now necessities, as shown in the increasing demands for electronics and meat. Climate change, resource issues, and the ever-increasing costs of necessities constantly loom over us like the anxiety after a bad dream.
Currently, BBC News reports that the average ecological footprint for one Canadian is 6.6 global hectares. If everyone lived like us, we would need 3.8 Earths. Modern overconsumption has brought about unprecedented stress on the ecosystems that sustain us. Throughout history, the majority of prosperous societies have been materialistic, yet the collapse of great societies has often been linked to environmental degradation.
In time, I hope we reach the end of an era. We would live within our means and within the capacity of the Earth. We would lead simpler lives and have more time to spend on our passions and with our loved ones. We should strive to breathe new meaning into the American Dream, so that we can spend our lives working towards genuine happiness and success. It takes courage to live a life that is less “perfect,” but with ultimately more freedom.
Photo by Valentyna Zin.