Affluenza
Affluenza is defined as the need to purchase more in order to gain status and happiness. America has five percent of the world's population and we consume thirty times as much as other countries. Our obsession with material goods has progressed to the point where advertisers will target children in order to make a sale. We are controlled by our obsessions with "stuff" so much that it has become a high priority in our society. Affluenza has been attributed to overwork, personal stress, the erosion of family and community, skyrocketing debt, and the growing gap between rich and poor. The never ending chase for the "American Dream" has cost our society more than just money. There has been a great decline in the value of family over the past century. Family has become more of who you live with and has decreased as the backbone of society. Now, more than ever, it seems as if money has become the backbone of society. The value of a person, or life, has been measured by money. The more one owns, the higher the status of that individual. Many believe that the bigger the house, the fancier the car, and the more extravagant their clothes are will affect their level of happiness. This is not the case, however. Many people wh
Advertising is partly to blame for the obsession with consumption in America. On average Americans will watch one year's worth of commercials in a lifetime. Advertisers know what to say and how to influence people into believing that unless they own their product they cannot gain social status. The obsession with designer name brands, such as Abercrombie, among high school students is a prime example. The same white t-shirt bought from Wal-mart is not considered as cool as the t-shirt with the designer name on the tag. Many are persuaded into believing if they purchase a certain product they will be one step closer to obtaining happiness. After a certain age, however, many begin to figure out that such products cannot provide happiness but just add to the dent in their wallet. Therefore, advertisers target the younger, more vulnerable age groups. The younger the age group the less knowledge there is of money management. Kids see a pretty advertisement, hear everything the announcer says, and are automatically hooked on that product. The manipulation of the younger generation has greatly increased the profits of many businesses and is a crucial part of the advertisement industry. Americans consume three times as much as the rest of the world. Since 1950, we have used more resources than the total used before that date. We depend on other countries for natural resources because ours have begun to run low. Fifty
Some common words found in the essay are:
Dream Advertising, American Dream, , american dream, percent world's, society money, past century, designer name, backbone society, advertisers target, september 11th, five percent,
Approximate Word count = 969
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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