Like what I stated earlier Materialism is the importance placed on material possessions. Someone with a high level of materialism, described as "materialistic," considers material possessions to be central to their life and their identity, and focuses a good deal of their energy on acquiring possessions. Someone with a low level of materialism, described as "non-materialistic," or "not materialistic," does not consider acquiring possessions to be particularly important, although they vary in the extent to which they acquire material possessions in order to meet other objectives, such as social acceptance. Quite simply it's the theory where people place material objects over people. 

To see if materialism is increasing we need only look at the current buying trends in present day society. Even a cursory glance at these trends would cause the question to be answered with a resounding YES! The pursuit of the American dream has become costly in that it is fraught with a large quantity of material possessions. The requirements to “keep up with the Joneses” are becoming more and more burdensome. The increase in high tech, computerized, and digitized devices in the areas of electronics and household appliances has altered the landscape of the American home and family.

What has fostered and fed these new trends? First, people will continue to subscribe to the pursuit of material goods, especially high tech devices for two basic reasons: the need for comfort and the need for entertainment. The deep, sometimes unspoken desire is to be coddled, catered to, and distracted. Embedded in this need for comfort and entertainment is the need for easy, quick access to information and resources. So, along with popping the family dinner into a microwave oven and eating the meal in a room with perfect temperature control, bill paying can be done from the comfort of home without ever writing a check or mailing an envelope. One can simply use a laptop from the comfort of any room in the house (thanks to a home-based wireless network), type in a few digits and press "go." Any topic may be researched from the limitless stores along the information highway from how to treat a skin rash to exploring ancient religions.

 

 

Many economists and politicians believe that the impulse to buy and possess things  is natural to human beings. This seems to make sense in terms of Darwin's theory of evolution: since natural resources are limited, human beings have to compete over them, and try to claim as large a part of them as possible. A problem with this theory is that there is actually nothing 'natural' about the desire to accumulate wealth. In fact, this desire would have been disastrous for earlier human beings. For the vast majority of our time on this planet, human beings have lived as hunter-gatherers living in areas for a couple of months. As we can see from modern hunter-gatherers, this way of life has to be non-materialistic, since people can't afford to be weighed down with unnecessary goods. Since they moved every few months, unnecessary goods would simply be a hindrance to them, making it more difficult for them to move.

Our mad materialism is partly a reaction to inner discontent. As human beings' it's normal for us to experience an underlying 'psychological discord', caused by the incessant chattering of our minds, which creates a disturbance inside us, and often triggers negative thoughts. We look to external things to try to alleviate our inner discontent. Materialism certainly can give us a kind of happiness - the temporary thrill of buying something new, and the ego-inflating thrill of owning it afterwards. And we use this kind of happiness to try to override - or compensate for the fundamental unhappiness inside us.It doesn't work, of course - or at least, it only works for a very short time. The happiness of buying or owning a new item rarely lasts longer than a couple of days. The sense of ego-inflation generated by wealth or expensive possessions can be more enduring, but it's very fragile too. It depends on comparing yourself to other people who aren't as well off as you, and evaporates if you compare yourself to someone who is wealthier than you. And no matter how much we try to complete or bolster our ego, our inner discontent and incompleteness always re-emerges, generating new desires. No matter how much we get, it's never enough. The satisfaction of one desire just creates new desires. 

 

Next, a parent can “talk” back and forth with a son or daughter in college or to an elderly mother halfway across the world. Such things were virtually unheard of many years ago. After the bill paying, research, and e-mailed correspondence, one can relax in the family room and choose from literally hundreds of movies or programs accessed through their cable or satellite TV provider. The picture will be viewed on a screen nearly covering the entire wall while the stereo sounds fill the entire room. These are just a few of the things that have become necessities, along with video games, luxury cars, summer homes, boats, designer clothing, and disposable contact lenses. These are the “must haves” of the American dream. Families, couples, and individuals expend hours, days, and years of their lives to obtain these things so that they may feel that they have “arrived” and so that they may be comfortable.