What Was The Impact Of Materialism On American Society

Materialism; a way of thinking that gives much importance to material possessions rather than to spiritual or intellectual things. A term that has often been linked with the American way of life, and the American dream in general. However, what are the possible effects of materialism on Americans and American society, and how can the development be countered?
According to Tim Kasser, Americans are bombarded with commercials that make them want to buy goods, every single day: “Every day, Americans are bombarded with hundreds of messages suggesting that the good life is obtainable through the goods life, by making lots of money and spending it on products that claim to make us happy, loved and esteemed.” The quotation shows that the Americans
The population is almost forced to look at consumer spending and economic growth as an extremely important thing in order for the country to develop, which leads to even more consumerism. The Americans believe that they are doing the country a favor when they spend their money on materialistic goods. However, this makes the consumers forget that there are other things in life.
The commercialization and consumerism has a huge impact on the way Americans choose to live their lives: “Commercialization and consumerism also reach deeper, working their way into people’s psyches and encouraging them to organize their lives around higher salaries and owning more stuff.” The quotation shows how the commercialization has affected the American people to such a degree that they plan their lives around making enough money to be able to buy materialistic things in order to feel successful and
I guess it was always a bit materialistic, but when I look at America today, I see a nation obsessed with shopping and buying unnecessary products.” The quote shows how the Americans tend to buy more and more useless products. They do this in order to feel better about themselves, and they are doing it under the pressure of bombardments of commercials. Khurram explains why the consumerism causes a problem for the American people: “This conspicuous consumption has its drawbacks. It wastes time, money and energy, and often racks up credit card debt. And even then it doesn’t add any fulfillment to one’s life.” This shows how the average American tends to waste time, money and energy on buying things that he can’t afford, in order to feel better about himself. However, all he ends up with is credit card debt, which might even make him want to buy more stuff in order to maintain a feeling of