Of course, material possessions are very important for better living conditions and the realization of different goals in life. Without materialistic possessions, it is difficult to do many things, despite the non-materialist aspects are also very important in life. But an extreme form of materialistic approach can lead to unhappiness and anxiety at the individual level and bring harm to family and society, whereas a minimalist approach can make it difficult to achieve many important goals in life. The pertinent aspect here is whether the world is becoming extremely materialistic. No doubt, the world is becoming so, though it is very difficult to exactly say how much it is becoming extremely materialistic.
It is relevant to say that the term ‘materialistic’ involves a set of attitudes towards material possessions, money, or wealth. Of course, there are differences in the understanding of materialism. But materialism usually puts more importance on the physical objects or possessions for happiness and satisfaction in life. As a consequence, materialists focus more on material possessions. At the highest level, materialism takes an extreme form that puts centrality on material possessions indicating an infatuation with material possessions that can disregard other things spiritual and social relations. Extreme materialists usually believe that material possessions provide the greatest source of satisfaction in life and, consequently, they seek happiness and status with material possessions with obsession. A materialistic society can be the one where people attach high value to money and other physical possessions and pay less attention to values, ethics and relationships.
Of course, the world is becoming more materialistic day by day. People are purchasing more than ever. The increased tendency to purchase is visible in every country in the world, developed, developing and less developed. They are increasingly purchasing food items, clothes, household electronics, cars, mobiles, bikes and other material possessions. Along with the urban people, rural people are also increasingly buying material possessions. Moreover, an extreme form of materialism that pays little attention to spiritual aspects is increasing across countries. Most probably, more emphasis on the materialistic way of living will be visible in the future, given that there is no significant and lasting economic downturn in the world. Indeed, people’s buying capacity, on which purchasing depends, is increasing. Moreover, production is increasing day by day because of scientific innovations.
No less important is that there are different personal, social, economic, psychological and other reasons for the intense materialistic approach. The perception of life is a vital reason. Many perceive that material life is the only life that is meaningful. Consequently, many of them resort to an extreme form of materialistic approach to life. Of course, broader social conditions play important roles in such a perception. Some other reasons can be a lack of well-informed clear goals in life, surrounding materialistic community, an inadequate understanding of the importance of non-material aspects of life, the social value of luxurious goods, peer influence, feeling insecure or threatened, deprivation, inadequate material possessions, and social injustice. Probably, the presence of such reasons will motivate many to take the extreme materialistic approach in the future too.
There is no doubt that materialism has some advantages, though it is mostly described to be negative. It has some immediate and long term positive impacts. Even if materialists experience more negative impacts, materialism leads to comfort, convenience and some sort of well-being, as it improves living conditions, especially material. Of course, materialism helps to achieve different goals in life as material possessions are useful tools for moving faster and accomplishing a faster rate while putting less strain on the mind and provide many other opportunities. It contributes to the betterment of society in terms of the creation and production of various goods, which are important for lives. Without an emphasis on materialism, today’s scientific progression would have not been possible.
But the materialistic approach to life has wide-ranging negative impacts on other aspects of life, though impacts are likely to vary at the level of the materialist approach. It reduces people’s spiritual and moral beliefs and many other things that are important for a better life. Moreover, a materialistic approach, especially an extreme form of materialistic approach, increases sadness and depression, lowers subjective wellbeing, increases the chance of conflicts with spouses, motivates to put on a show of happiness and seek the approval of others on almost everything and influences to be motivated by the extrinsic goals. Because of extreme materialism, people are not satisfied on many occasions, as it involves restlessness. Of course, an extreme form of materialism also makes people selfish, self-centered and ungrateful and, consequently, extreme materialists can bring out significant negative outcomes to the family and society as a whole
Indeed, many extreme materialists can disregard their family and social responsibilities as they want to keep all their material possessions with them and are less willing to share them with anyone else. Moreover, a materialistic approach can damage relationships with family, friends and relatives and keeps materialist away from performing humanitarian actions. Of course, materialism can lead to crimes. Those who are not capable of buying things they desire may take criminal paths to earn the resolution to satisfy their needs and buy things to lead a luxurious life. Such crimes may be rendered as materialistic crimes. Also, putting absolute emphasis on materialism can lead to the endangerment of species, pollution of air, water and earth, the destruction of the environment and other negative impacts.
But the vital aspect is whether the material possessions are the result of choice driven by intrinsic or extrinsic motivations. It is notable that a choice is intrinsic when it is motivated and made by internal factors. For example, different people may set certain goals that are important for them and buy material possessions to achieve their goals. Even if they buy more material possessions, their choice is intrinsic and can bring more positive outcomes. In this case, materialistic life may be equivalent to materials intensive way of life. But an extrinsic choice is one that is made and motivated by the influence of others. In this case, there is a tendency to seek objects that meet the expectation of others and receive acceptance from others, even if materialists may not necessarily enjoy material objects. Extreme materialists may fall in the latter case.
No doubt, material possessions are very important for enhancing life. But non-materialist aspects are also important, Since materialistic approach will remain, policymakers need to make policies so that materialism can be optimally beneficial for society, Moreover, extremely materialists need to be motivated so that they give importance to materialistic aspects of life too and material objects can be used by them as a means of achieving goals. In this respect, social, moral and spiritual values need to be promoted too so that people can not only become capable of realizing their own goals but also develop non-materialistic aspects of their lives and play their responsible roles for society. Of course, this is pertinent, moreover, not only in individualistic but also in collectivistic societies in the world.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Magazine, its employees or any other authors. Views published are the sole responsibility of the author(s).
