Our society thrives on the idea of ​​making money just to buy nice things. Now, this isn't an entirely bad thing, because some people work hard for what they have and feel like they deserve the good things that life has to offer; but when does it become a problem? There are a lot of people who live up there which means they have those expensive labels that others wish they could afford. Since we live in a consumer society, the idea is that we help build our economy. When we buy things we help create jobs that produce more money to help buy more things; it is nothing more than a cycle. Sometimes the items people spend their money on aren't necessary and they could do without them. The idea of ​​spending money surrounds us all the time in magazine ads, commercials, television shows, etc. It's a madness that never ends but can be controlled. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay A movie that relates to this topic is Confessions of a Shopaholic. It's about a young woman who grew up wanting to wear pretty "labels" but whose mother couldn't afford them. He dreamed of having a job in high fashion and achieved it, as well as having thousands of dollars in debt and running away from debt collectors. Even though she was in debt, she would never have to do anything to get the latest news. The main character's father, Graham Bloomwood played by John Goodman, said: “The American economy can have billions of dollars in debt and still survive! You can do it too!" It's almost as if he's telling his daughter that just like the economy, that it's bad, that the United States has a nice, rich taste and is still holding on and she could do the same without spending any money useless. Ultimately, she learns that all the material objects she spent her money on could not bring her permanent happiness. So now, let's address why people buy uselessly. For some, material objects fill a void , like the young woman in Confessions of a Shopaholic, means having all the good things that you might have been deprived of as a child. Whatever it is, all things are good for you in small doses. It's when you would spend your last energy getting an item of your desire when you know you have overdue bills or more important business to take care of. According to James B. Twitchell, author of Needing the Unnecessary, who states: “you are not what you do. And most of what you consume is totally useless but extraordinarily well made. Our economy and generation are accustomed to the luxury of everything seen in every life. And if you ask Virginia Postrel, she would say: “We want our vacuum cleaners and our cell phones to shine, our bathroom faucets and desk accessories to express our personalities. We expect every mall and block to offer designer coffee, multiple cuisines, a copy shop with do-it-yourself graphics stations and a nail salon for on-demand manicures. We ask for trees in our parking lots, peaked roofs and decorative facades in our supermarket, and car dealerships as sleek and elegant as the cars they sell (Postrel, 315).” And really, it's all just for show. Everywhere you look you see designer labels and expensive cars because that's what everyone wishes they could get. For some, you even spend a little more money on water just because of the brand. The real question is: why spend more when you could get it for less? Some people tend to believe that the higher the price the better the quality. Forsome items this may be true, but when it comes to water buying another brand should be fine, right? Wrong, because even the most expensive water is linked to something glamorized by the media. There is also a website (zebo.com) that describes itself as the world's largest archive of what people own. According to Kris Browning, twenty-six years old, she said that she likes to check whether her friends have purchased something new or not and to go through their wish list (Rosenbloom, 332). This only fuels the desire to spend more money and have the latest news. It is or is not surprising to think that millions of people spend money every day to help build our economy. But only to realize that our economy is still heavily in debt due to events that happened years ago. In the United States, the total amount of debt held by all 50 state governments combined was $4.17 trillion in 2012 (website). Shouldn't we all be a little depressed about this? Looking around while shopping it is rare to see a sad face in the mall; people like to spend their hard-earned money on things they feel they deserve, and companies know it. Study after study has been conducted and the results of their research, so far, are clear: money buys happiness, but only up to a certain point. Studies also show that people in richer countries are, on average, significantly happier than those in poor countries (peck, Douthat, 352). We are the least happy society in history if we measure happiness in terms of mental health, personal growth, or a general sense of vitality (Schumaker, 358). Now, think about this. How many hours a week do you work? Is it because you have to or feel you have a lifestyle to maintain? There are many wealthy, unknown professionals or businessmen whose work has become a routine for them (Csikszentmihalyi, 363), but they keep it because they feel they have to maintain a lifestyle. The more boring and routine their daily life becomes, the more the search for substitutes for entertainment increases (363). Even the celebrities you idolize fall into the routine of their daily lives. Their high-paying jobs keep them away from their loved ones for months at a time, and for some the stress that accompanies their high-profile lives can sometimes be their undoing. We usually hitch our emotional wagons to ego, ambition, personal power, and spectacle. But none of that matters when it comes to happiness and fun. Today's “success” has become a model for failure (Schumaker, 360). Television has a way of glamorizing all materialistic things. This makes it easier for everyone in society to fall victim to a materialistic lifestyle, and if you can't get it, you become envious. Since the target has been marked and everyone is under its predator, it's time for marketing ideas. Companies spend thousands of dollars on marketing ideas, so in return they have to get their money back in this vicious cycle. So they do it by any means necessary. Advertising for luxury goods is everywhere around us: the Internet, billboards, magazines, street advertising, radio and television commercials, and the list goes on. US residents are now exposed to between 3,000 and 5,000 advertisements every day. This is a quantum leap from 500 to 2,000 per day in 1970 (Heldman, 341), but not all methods are very appropriate. For many years, women have been the target of all advertising. Either the item being sold is completely aimed at women, like most cleaning products or vacuum cleaner advertisements, or things aimed at men. A perfect example of this is the Fiat commercial.