With the flourishing economy and extra money available from people, they are more likely to get educated and at least complete high school. Studying employees at a large telecommunications company in Southeast, Schor found out that education is additionally a “very surprising variable” in consumption and shopping. Normally, we would think that a more educated person would be more likely to be an educated consumer. However, she found the opposite. The more well-informed one is, the higher the level of spending will be. According to Schor’s results, better educated people were more tied to the culture of upscale consuming. Education raises aspirations. For an example, a straight-A high school graduate student will most likely continue education on to an expensive high-class university. Typically, these students would reflect how they have worked so hard to be where they are that they deserve to be in a high class well-known school. And so, their ambitions escalate.
Because of the economic prosperity, people are also given the chance to invent advanced technologies which have changed a great deal of our way of living through the years. Most of us today would think it’s impossible to live without the modern conveniences such as electricity and cars. Yet even an Amish community now has a phone booth. Technology is a basic necessity for our race. Moreover, it’s crucial that people should catch up with its continuous development; otherwise, they would be left out, and it’s all about the survival of the fittest in this world. A common example is the computer technology. Remember the time when only research or office areas had computers; ever since it was introduced to schools, now every household has to have at least one. Plus, there is also the technology’s feature of ‘planned obsolescence’. Producers or manufacturers trick customers in to believing that the old product they own is no longer good enough – now that there is an updated, modern and more desirable version available. Manufacturers have been designing products that would deliberately wear out or break in the future; thus, the consumer would be forced to buy another one. This helps keep the business moving.
As a result of the rise of technology, credit cards found their way out to the society. They have always allowed consumers to buy more than they normally would. People think of it like “free money”. For instance, students are able to buy things that they can’t even afford and then later, they get cramped up with large bills. Credit cards make it so much easier to spend.
Media with the increasing economy and the aid of peer pressure also plays its part in the society and tries to promote ‘competition’ between groups. There has been a growing importance of television ever since human race got a hold of this device. Nearly all of those characters that appear in programs are upper middle class or wealthy. According to Schor’s research findings, for every added hour of TV watched, the consumer’s annual spending “increases by roughly $200 per year; so, an average level of TV watching of 15 hours a week equals nearly $3000 per year”. These TV characters that show lifestyles of the wealthy become the public’s “reference groups”. A great example of this is the ‘Paris Hilton’ mania, which has the teens being targeted at. There are 20% of these ‘rich’ people in our society, while the remaining 80% of households who see it as something ‘cool’ try to compete by living the same lifestyle. Therefore, they spend more.
However, all features of a social system may not always be functional and beneficial to each other. “Dysfunctions emerge as undesirable consequences of any element of a society, where its capacity to adapt and survive may be threaten” (Merton, 1968).
“One of the most fascinating things about overspending is the number of people that are NOT conscious of their behavior” (Schor). Students, initially, get credit cards with the intention to use for important things like groceries and gas. Soon, you’ll find them spending at bars, buying new clothes regularly, and generally buying more because of the convenience of a credit card. “The average American underestimates his or her credit card debt by a factor of 2” (Schor). Some people start engaging multiple credit cards which only lead them in to deeper debts, ending up in bankruptcy. According to the Administrative Office of the Courts, in the year ended December of 2004, 2.1 million people filed for bankruptcy!
Credit cards have allowed consumers with the lowest income categories to spend extensive amounts of time, energy and money shopping, while building up larger credit card debts in the process. Moreover, these materialists often show signs of discontent and unhappiness in their life. Psychologists say that the more material objects one has, the higher the suicidal rate is. Most of your lifetime, you try to make money and buy stuff, illustrating how more priority is given to earning and spending rather than having quality time with your family and friends.
“Time is taken away from the things that can give true happiness, such as relationships with people that are close to you. It’s not absolutely necessary that chasing after material wealth will interfere with your social life. But it can, and if it does, it probably has a net negative pay-off in terms of social life satisfaction and well-being” (Deiner).
Although the Consumer Federation of America blames the credit card industry and banks for excessive debt that Americans are with, other banks argues that 96% of their clients pay on time (Koch). They have made strict standards for extending credit lines. However, the act of overspending all comes down to the consumer’s own will and responsibility, as they are the only ones who know their current real situation. It is helpful to carry only one or two credit cards that are limited to 20% of their annual income, remembering to pay balances in full every month. This way the consumer is not heavily distressed by sudden huge debts. Also, sometimes, it’s not so smart to purchase more goods than you need. “It’s better to figure out whether these expenditures which comprise an increasing amount of most Americans’ budgets are really worth it in terms of value for the dollar” (Schor). Research shows that Americans can reduce their expenditures by 20% without interrupting on their quality of life. As Schor would say, “Spending less can actually make you feel better”.
