Synopsis "Materialism and Youth Navigating the Lure of Consumerism (in English)"
Twenty-five centuries ago, the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu marked the danger ofpossessions (Kasser, 2003). We are all materialists in our lives up to some extent.Materialistic goals are important for our daily living and we enjoy materialistic goods to alevel. Being materialistic to certain limits is not evil, until these goods begin to become thecause of our behaviour and actions. Materialistic desires become obstacles when we are tooattached to worldly possessions rather than spiritual development, relationships and evenpeace of mind.Materialism in Psychology?Materialism is an interdisciplinary concept but has great importance in the field ofpsychology also. Studying materialism is a vital component of studying human behavior.Throughout life every person view certain things as valuable which may be present in anyform. It may be happiness, spirituality, religion, relationship, family, home life, career, adventure, fun or in some cases acquiring material possessions (Kasser, 2003). Whilesocializing an individual starts adopting the ways and norms of the society, materialism isalso seen to be affected by the type of society in which a person lives. Society constantly tellsus the importance of acquiring money which leads to an increase in our happiness, and thatone should constantly try to achieve these goals in order to attain happiness. But it has beenseen that in a constant urge to accomplish these goals of accumulation of wealth andpossessions, we often miss out on various life experiences, depths of interpersonalrelationships, quality of life, and above all our psychological health. A beautiful example ofthe above stated situation has been mentioned by Kasser (2003) in book 'The High Price ofMaterialism':
