Two websites you should Definitely look at for this issue are http://storyofstuff.org/ and https://www.adbusters.org/.

 

TheStoryOfStuff is a Community of 750,000 changemakers worldwide, working to build a more healthy and just planet. Together, we believe it's possible to create a society based on better not more, sharing not selfishness, community not division. We invite you to be inspired by and share our movies, participate in our study programs, and take part in our campaigns on the issues you care about.

 

Adbusters are based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Adbusters is a not-for-profit, reader-supported, 60,000-circulation magazine concerned about the erosion of our physical and cultural environments by commercial forces. Our work has been featured in hundreds of alternative and mainstream newspapers, magazines, and television and radio shows around the world.

Adbusters offers incisive philosophical articles as well as activist commentary from around the world addressing issues ranging from genetically modified foods to media concentration. In addition, our annual social marketing campaigns like Buy Nothing Day and Digital Detox Week have made us an important activist networking group. Ultimately Adbusters is an ecological magazine, dedicated to examining the relationship between human beings and their physical and mental environment. We want a world in which the economy and ecology resonate in balance. We try to coax people from spectator to participant in this quest. We want folks to get mad about corporate disinformation, injustices in the global economy, and any industry that pollutes our physical or mental commons.

 

These are two amazing organizations trying their best to solve this issue as well as the other aspects it affects

 

Lower the use of social media: While Facebook, Twitter, Instagram is ostensibly free, the reality is that Facebook and similar platforms cost us massive amounts of time. We could either use that time to earn money or to do something real, like watching birds. How much do you earn per hour? Let’s say $25. How many hours do you spend Facebooking, Tweeting, etc each week? Let’s say 4 hours. That’s $100 a week, or $400 a month. You are giving that value to Facebook and its shareholders, and all you get in return are pictures of babies, cats, and people who you really do not like. Facebook also shows you click bait links that further waste your time

 

Buy only what you absolutely need, not what you want or might need. Before buying anything, ask these questions:

• Do I NEED this item?

• Will this item add MORE DOING to my life?

• Will this item help me to REDUCE my materialism?

 

Stop making shopping a recreational activity: Stop thinking of the mall as an entertainment venue. The problem with figuring the mall as an entertainment venue is that the place is shot through with the ideology of materialism. Everything there is for sale. Store owners will do almost anything to get you to buy. And advertising is everywhere. If you define yourself as a “mall shopper,” pretty soon you will feel like you haven’t done your duty unless you leave the place with a bag full of stuff you don’t need. That’s when they have you!

       -Don’t go to the mall with friends. Go alone, and make it a business trip.

       -Know exactly what you want before you go to the store, buy it, and leave the premises immediately.

       -Use a 30-day list. If you decide you really want to buy something, put it on a list. Now tell yourself you cannot buy that item for             30 days. When the 30 days have passed, if you still want the item, go to the store and buy it. This waiting period can help you                 determine whether or not you really want or need the item.

 

Limit television: You don’t need to become a television basher, just recognize that TV is dominated by the concerns of advertisers. It’s not just that a higher and higher percentage of TV content is ads, but that even non-advertising content carries the messages and materialistic ideology of advertisers. The actors who play people represented in sitcoms, for example, don’t wear clothing that they pick out themselves. They wear clothing that fits advertising demographics.

• -Force yourself to shut down all TV viewing for one week as an experiment, and if you can’t handle this, shut it down for three days.

• -Figure out how many hours of TV you watch per week. Then determine what you would truly miss if you cut out TV viewing altogether.

• -Watch only the shows you would truly miss, and forget about the rest.

• -Watch television shows with other people, this can reduce some of its materialistic overtones.

 

Limit web browsing: Unfortunately, the internet is second only to television for spreading a materialistic ideology. The prevalence of the celebrity culture, incredibility intrusive advertising, and, of course, internet shopping make it hard to avoid the rampant materialism of the internet.

• -Even more than TV, internet use encourages self absorption and a solitary life style. Instead of becoming a hermit, participate in real social networking—make new, non-virtual, friends—rather than participating in Facebook and Twitter.

• -Cut out one internet function. Most people use the internet for more than one function. They use it to play games. They use it for getting news. Or, they use it for buying stuff. Cutting out one of these functions is easier than cutting them all out, and it can help you get a handle on your overall internet usage.

 

Increase Self Esteem: You can do this in a multitude of ways such as

       -Work on improving yourself

       -Give back to others

       -Please yourself

       -Set Realistic Expectations

       -Set Aside Perfection and Grab a Hold of Accomplishments… and Mistakes.

       -Explore yourself

       -Etc.

This is a solution because in tests and experiments people with higher self-esteem do not fall into materialism and are generally happier. 

 

Spread The Word: The more people that know the faster this issue will get resolved

 

If you are a parent and need help with your teenager here is some advice.

 

1. Have conversations about the cost of things. Making costs clear will allow a teen to have more realistic expectations about the work that goes into earning an income and buying a particular possession. This has to start early though. Require your teens to purchase expensive items with their own money. Also provide ways for them to earn money if they are unable to secure jobs.

2. It is important to realize that teens who grow up with broader periods of instability as well as disconnection when parents are separated are more likely to espouse materialistic values particularly if they experience either during mid-childhood or adolescence. So for parents who are going through these kinds of experiences, try and create different goals and challenges because you don’t want to use possessions to fill the void within themselves or to replace the instability.

3. Parents, model simplicity and contentment to the extent that you can. If you are a model of reaching for the next gadget or also focusing on material things, they are more likely to imitate what they see. Show a deeper appreciation for the value of things.

4. Practice generosity. Volunteer as a family. Pick experiences that you have a heart for. Shifting your focus on the needs of others can encourage gratitude in your teens. Encourage making a difference in other people’s lives. The nice thing about our schools in general is that they encourage this as we talked about the last time we did Teen Talk, so to the extent that you can, encourage idealism.

5. Focus your attentions on developing creativity in your youngsters. It limits the amount of time that kids can watch television or other social media. I think encouraging creativity nurtures tremendous personal growth and development.

6. Teach your teens to read behind marketing messages. What are they really trying sell you? This teaches critical thinking and it teaches messages that are sometimes triggers for spending. Do they think a product will deliver on its promise? These are the compelling kinds of questions that encourage communication which is often a very tough issue for parents and teens.

7. Expose your teens to people, groups, experiences who are less fortunate or who live at substantially lower situations than they do. Exposure to third world county documentaries or research information online. Exposure to people in our own communities who are homeless. Exposure to situations where people have had a great deal and have been reduced to having nothing because life can change on a dime. I think just simply an awareness of this experience makes a difference in giving them different glasses to look out of the materialistic eye.

8. Be extremely supportive. Parents who nurture high self-esteem in their teens on a regular basis are less likely to value possessions.