The Longings for Belongings Is a Longing to Belong

Converting wants to needs, and being materialistic goes hand in hand with the desire to fit in. Relationships with other individuals usually spark from assets in common with one another. The more assets you gain, the more likely you’ll be admired. Admiration leads to popularity which is the essence of belonging. To feel confident is a constant struggle living in the modern world; with its ads catering to our insecure identities, we tend to be so eager to conform. These advertisements inform us the way to talk, dress, who to hang out with, where to go, how to act and most of all who to be.

When effective advertisement is in progress, you are led to believe in something—with high expectations—only to discover to your disappointment that it was all propaganda. With everything humans interact with there is an advert out there edging an individual on to own it too, as if it is the only way to be accepted. This die-hard needy attitude is the result of our confused brains processing this information. These constant commercials in our lives can provide an odd desire to contribute to the given product by manipulating us. Advertising tools can be advertising themselves in the process. For example the need for a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship or getting invited to an exclusive A-list party has turned into a common goal to reach for our young modern generation. These desires turn into an aching need because it is said that you won’t succeed without it.

The results of these advertising tools are in our daily lives and the fictional lives we create. In the short story Raj, Bohemian the narrator speaks of the number of people constantly trying to befriend him with ulterior motives. The narrator’s friend Sunita is hosting an exclusive party which he says is fun every year. This infamous party is the place to be therefore people immediately start angling for invites. The narrator believes these people are “liggers” and “hangers-on” (Kunzru, 2).