One major issue Roberts addresses is that luxury items are seen as necessities just because everyone else has them. For example, cell phones in our society are viewed as a must-have because almost everyone has one. If someone doesn’t have a cell phone nowadays, they’re viewed as either old-fashioned or less fortunate. Another issue Roberts addresses is that the “treadmill of consumption” will never stop. Once people start buying more and more products, the treadmill picks up speed. This then leads to even more consumption. Meanwhile, all these purchases do not make the buyers any happier, but instead serve as a type of addiction. Customers become addicted to obtaining new products and increasing their social status. Some consumers are willing
…show more content…
He illustrates this with his metaphor of “the treadmill of consumption.” The metaphor shows that no matter how much one purchases beyond basic needs, the treadmill always speeds up, raising happiness expectations in the process. The mindset that goes with the treadmill is that someone will always have nicer and more luxurious things than you. To keep up, one must continue to purchase new things frequently. Roberts also argues that we’re buying just to show status instead of consuming for enjoyment. He gives an example of families competing with each other to obtain higher status by purchasing more luxurious cars than one another. When one family buys a nicer vehicle, the other then has to upgrade and purchase a boat as well. This shows the families are not just consuming for enjoyment, but to present themselves as wealthy and higher in status than the competing family. Status used to be determined by family reputation, but nowadays it comes from consumption. Another example was about twenty people who won the lottery. The people became no happier after winning the jackpot and some were even more sad than they were before they won. This illustrates that as long as essential needs are met, huge sums of money or fancy items do not change the level of
He illustrates this with his metaphor of “the treadmill of consumption.” The metaphor shows that no matter how much one purchases beyond basic needs, the treadmill always speeds up, raising happiness expectations in the process. The mindset that goes with the treadmill is that someone will always have nicer and more luxurious things than you. To keep up, one must continue to purchase new things frequently. Roberts also argues that we’re buying just to show status instead of consuming for enjoyment. He gives an example of families competing with each other to obtain higher status by purchasing more luxurious cars than one another. When one family buys a nicer vehicle, the other then has to upgrade and purchase a boat as well. This shows the families are not just consuming for enjoyment, but to present themselves as wealthy and higher in status than the competing family. Status used to be determined by family reputation, but nowadays it comes from consumption. Another example was about twenty people who won the lottery. The people became no happier after winning the jackpot and some were even more sad than they were before they won. This illustrates that as long as essential needs are met, huge sums of money or fancy items do not change the level of