Materialism: A Deadly Curse?

In today’s world, we have to accept that materialistic desires are often the drive of our society. Now, nobody is happy with a friend unless they buy them presents at Christmas and for their Birthday’s, and nobody will want to enter into a relationship unless their potential partner is minted.

Why is this?

Many years ago, Christmas was a time for family. A time to tell them how much you love them, and that you’ll always be there for them. Today, we see Christmas advertisements on the television from as early as September, and there are mad rushes in supermarkets for the couple of weekends leading up to the big day. This is because the world is becoming more and more competitive, and the only way anybody can be seen in a more positive light than another person is by owning more desirable products. Buying a large Christmas present for somebody shows that you are generous, that you have lots of money, and that people would do well to like you. Not buying them anything shows that you are selfish and not really interested about the occasion.

But this shouldn’t be the case! Just because not everyone can afford to buy lots for Christmas doesn’t mean that they are selfish! Surely family and friends are much more important than food and presents?

As for Valentine’s Day; that is possibly the worst occasion of the year with regards to materialism. Surely if you love somebody, you should tell them every day of the year, not just emphasize it on February 14th. Not only are you supposed to emphasize it, but just days after Christmas, the shops are jammed full of Valentine’s Day cards, presents and chocolates, most of which are at stupidly high prices. It’s a shame that shops think that they must put such items at a high price, as they know that people will buy the products for their loved ones.

Does this mean that the shops make us feel guilty for not spending money on those who we love? Are they bullying us into spending money on things we don’t want to spend money on? It appears that this might be the case, with more and more ‘official days’ being announced every year. Who wants to receive a card on ‘national hug day’? More to the point, what kind of person would buy a card for each of their friends to celebrate this occasion? Sadly, some people feel as though they must do this, and are already spending up to £3 per card for each of their friends!

What about Easter? We are supposed to be celebrating the ressurection of Jesus at this time of year, so why do we exchange expensive chocolate eggs on Easter Sunday? And why has it become such a competition between children to see who can get the most chocolate eggs at this time of the year?

Surely some kind of rule should be put into place to make sure that there are bargain options available? It is surely unethical to make people feel guilty for not spending hundreds of pounds on occasions which the shops have turned into purely materialistic ones!

If you have any views on this topic, I would love to read your comments!