The Desire for Possessing Materialistic Things - Research Paper Example

Design of Desire The desire for possessing materialistic things is a phenomenon which always fire under the conscious mind of people. Much of the population in the world is a slave to the desire of buying material which catches our attention. Many people are impulse shoppers who achieve great happiness instantly when they buy the product of their choice. They gain full satisfaction when they do shopping and there is little can be done to stop them. People buy things to satisfy the need which they feel inside them and most of the times it is done just to gratify the sense of fiery desire. Most of the people take a little step further than required in purchasing things which they hardly need or require. They basically buy material they do not have use of, but is just a treat for their eyes and mind. The most of the buying or shopping is based on emotional and feelings of a person, rather than on requirement and need. This kind of consuming behavior is not only a financial loss but also can turn out be an uncontrollable habit which they can get addicted to. “In today’s consumer- driven society ,satisfying consumer needs has less to with the practical meeting of physical needs and everything to do with gratifying desire based upon emotions”(Danziger 11).This kind of frivolous buying behavior is seen among people who are spontaneous and impulsive and they give more importance to their emotional satisfaction rather than real needs. But this is not the case with all, there are People who spend very wisely keeping in control their emotional urge. They understand the value of the money, and spend it on things which are more essential to them. However, for the spend thrift behavior of the people can be very well blamed upon the marketing strategy of the manufactures, international companies and designer brand producers. The advertising agenda of these product lines is to capture the mind of the buyer and trap them in buying the product no matter what the situation is. The market in every way advertise products taking in to consideration people who are spend thrifts and extravagant .They promote their product to lure them and motivate them to buy the product as if they are necessary commodity for their household use. Since there is a huge competition in the market the companies indulge in various techniques and tactics to attract the buyers and sell out their products. “The buying process in influenced by buyer’s mood and psychological factor, social surrounding, time, situational factors, social class culture and so forth”(Steiner 59-62). People are more drawn to buy luxury brand also in a way to remain in fashion and to get a status symbol. They feel that they have improved their class by wearing commodities and accessories possessed by celebrities and socilaities.Designer products are advertised in such a way that the buyer feel that they can change their social status by obtaining it and using it. The brands have gained so much popularity that some people market themselves by wearing designer products. They feel that they will be much noticed and talked about if they use accessories and brands that are internationally known. They want to grab more attention and want to be the centre of attraction of parties and get together being in designer clothes and accessories. These people have a very shallow thought and believe everything is outwards experience. They blindly follow the fashion agenda of the celebrities and models and attempt to follow their footsteps. “It has been shown that the people who spend more on luxury and designer brands were more materialistic and motivated by the good quality and design associated with the luxury brands” (Prendergast 157 - 69). There is a numerous count of designer clothing brands across the world and all of them compete for their market share. Even though there is so much competition from all sides, as well as from other retailers, the people still get motivated to buy designer label clothes. One factor which motivates the people in buying designer labels is that it indicates a sign of wealth. This is one of the philosophies behind individuals purchasing designer brands even when they are not financially able to buy it. Even when they can afford only general products they push themselves to buy luxury brands in order to show case themselves. It is therefore can be considered that by wearing designer clothing, they convey to others that they are rich. The spending habit of people on products and materials is a by product of the uncontrollable desire resting in them. It can be seen that when an individual buy a certain product he feels a degree of satisfaction and pleasure from it. It is like a pumping of adrenaline in they brain when they possess the material they desired. They hardly think about the necessity of the product in their life and the amount of financial loss they have undergone with such an act. It is mostly observed in women a behavior of compulsive shopping which is a result of desire .“Many researchers are coming to believe that compulsive shopping is a mental disorder as real, and often as devastating, as drug addiction or pathological gambling”(Futrelle). This desire for clothes and other products make them spend more and also create an addictive behavior in them. Once they get used to such a habit, every time they visit stores and outlets they are compelled to buy whatever their mind get attracted to. This kind of excessive shopping can be categorized in to mental illness which not only waste a big amount of money but also waste a lot of products which they buy as it can lie useless at home most of the time. If the individual is a hardcore shopper then it can be very difficult for the person to divert his attention from buying a product. Once they see the product and like it, they immediately buy it without a second thought. This desire for shopping is like another desire, as excessive eating, drinking or using drug and can many times require a psychological assistance to over come it .Desire if not controlled can become overwhelming and result in loss of money ,time and energy. At the beginning, it starts out like a leisure activity and later slowly develops in to an obsession. The problem arises when, once a pleasurable activity transforms in to a compulsive act. This act of shopping spree can only get worse and turn out into an uncontrollable disastrous behavior. It is also seen that the individual with such nature can feel withdrawal symptoms when they stop themselves from buying things. Sometimes the purchasing habit can be a daily ritual .some people are even aware of the negative impact of their uncontrollable desires. But they really do not have a grip on their spending behavior and indulge in it whenever they fell so. Sometimes it can be seen that people accumulate massive collection of useless things and even end up in thousands of dollar debt .It is all because of their inability to resist the desire of possessing things which they get attracted to.“People do not buy things for crass, materialistic reasons but because the things they buy help them achieve various deep – seated psychological goals and support their often unconscious needs and values”(Dichter 14). It is more of a psychological issue and people often compensate for their underlying problems by spending on unnecessary goods. This can not only bring loss to the individual but also to the people living with them. Buying things is not an act to be made as leisure activity, but something to fulfill our needs and requirement. People do enjoy the process of shopping but it should also serve your purpose. If it is done only to quench ones desire this can be considered as a wasteful act. People are never out of desire and more they buy more it fuel their desire. They should always consider the things they could do by the money they spend on wasteful luxury good and other material they buy for their passion alone. Marketing techniques of the manufacturers and designer brands have a very big role to play in influencing people to buy more of their products. Advertising strategies fill our life more than ever and it s reaching us through every type of media. People with least resistance to their spending habits fall prey to such advertising and end up buying things which are less useful to them. The people who are shopaholic are in real need of psychological counseling to overcome their habit of excessive shopping. “Just because conspicuous consumptions are a cross culture and historic aberration of the human species does not mean that you have to fall prey to it” (Dominguez 23).One should be able to control their desires and use money on more important issues. People should not spend their time, money and energy on just buying branded products and inflating their ego. If they plan their shopping well they can not only save money but also get to spend it on more important things at adverse situation. Bibliography Dichter, E. The strategy of desire. 1st. New jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2002. 14. Print Danziger, P.N. Why people buy things they dont need. 1st. Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2004. 11. Print. Dominiguez, J.R. Your Money or Your Life. 1st. New York: Penguin Books, 1992. 23. Print. Futrelle, David. "Do You Shop Too Much? Understanding--and controlling--the primal urge to splurge." www.cnn.com. CNN, 2003. Web. 23 Nov 2010. Read More