Affluenza An Unhappy Relationship With Money Essay — страница 2

buy. One example that supports this claim is a statistic, it states by the age of 20, the average American will have seen 1 million commercials, (Spokesman Review, 1997). It would be reasonable to believe that if someone view a commercial even half the number of times they would feel the need to buy or use that product, wouldn’t it? A statistic that adds support to my claim consumers are conditioned to buy is consumers buy more for the label or name brand (77%) than for quality Causes & Cures (13%), (STWD, 1997). That suggest marketers are succeeding in their plan to condition consumers into buying their product without thought about quality or price. Some would say the simple solution would be to turn off the TV, but that wouldn’t solve the problem of marketers

attempting to condition consumers either. Advertising accounts 2/3 of the space in newspapers and 40% of all mail, (Affluenza, 1997). This would seem to go against my thesis that affluenza can be prevented. But on the contrary with all of these advertisements one can shop around, compare the prices and find the best deals for him or her using the marketers plan against them and finding the best quality product that fits ones budget, and lifestyle. Although, marketers are in the business of promoting materialism and in turn perpetuating affluenza it all comes down to personal choice and self-control. Another market segment that is being infected with the disease we call affluenza is the youth of America specifically young children. I would contend that marketers are trying to

infect young children with affluenza so they can reap the benefits now and for years to come. Kathy Hoover-Dempsey, an associate professor of psychology and human resource development at Vanderbilt University states, “Young children believe advertisements are truthful and helpful, and it is not until early adolescence that they develop a healthy skepticism. I believe that marketers Causes & Cures agree and are attempting to infect these children with affluenza before they can become skeptical. My belief isn’t just personal it come with backing. At an advertising conference at Disney World, Florida a Disney executive was quoted saying, “There’s something to be said about branding children, and owning them in that way.” (STWD, 1997). Branding isn’t that something

one does to farm animals, and owning these are vivid examples of how serious marketers are about infecting the youth population with affluenza. Even credit card companies are advertising to young kid with the credit card barbie doll, and there always seems to be credit card advertisements in elementary schools lunchrooms, and the ads continue through middle and high schools as well as college classrooms as our own. Now with the information that is available to parents and consumers alike have to educate the children and instill the value systems that they see fit and hopefully steer the youth of America clear of affluenza. One of the most common ways to catch affluenza is by trying to keep up with the Joneses it is also one of the most common occurrences in American families

today. How does a family catch affluenza? A lot of families get it from other families. Thus, the term trying to keep up with the Joneses has significance. The produce of “Affluenza” John de Gaaf puts it into perspective though he says, Causes and Cures “keeping up with the Joneses is being replaced by a laser guided missile that makes keeping up with Michael Jordan or Disney a required part of life.” (STWD, 1997). I was infected with affluenza at an early age around the time I was 12 or 13. I was looking around at basketball practice one day and noticed I was the only guy without one of those $100 a pair Nike basketball shoes, and at that age fitting in was important to me. After practice that day I promptly returned home and began begging my mother for a pair of these

shoes, but she explained to me that we couldn’t afford them. But, I was unrelenting and I finally got her to cave. Thus, although our family couldn’t afford these shoes I got them and that’s how I got affluenza. The question I ask myself now is can I be cured of affluenza? I answer myself with a resounding, Yes! The reason is simple I can be cured and so can everyone infected with affluenza. I know material items are sometimes necessary but now I list out my priorities and put them in order of importance and monetary value. Another method that I found useful is to value everything in terms hours. For example, this past summer I was making $9/hr. at my job and I wanted to purchase a new stereo with a price tag of nearly $500 installed. I computed the hours I would need to