Causes Of Affluenza In America

Anyone who kills innocent people should not be able to avoid jail just because their family is rich. Ethan Couch a teenager killed 4 innocent people and injuring 2 of his passengers while driving drunk. For his actions he was supposed to go to jail but instead got probation for being diagnosed with “affluenza.” Which is when someone does not understand or control what they do simply because they come from a rich family. Affluenza is not an acceptable reason for someone to avoid jail time because he is old enough to know what was right or wrong and he is no different from any other kids.

In 1977 a new word-affluenza-was introduced to the dictionary. This word is commonly used by other countries to describe Americans. The United States has been plagued with affluenza- an addiction to material goods; however, I also believe that one should live the way they want to.

Materialism is also an indication of this sickness we call "Affluenza". What brings about materialism and causes "Affluenza"? This simple answer is marketers by using a plenty of information that cannot be avoided they seduce consumers to buy trough various media [Blenkhorn and N. Wright].

Affluenza is defined as the need to consume and pursuit a high status in society. In the book Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic by John de Graaf, David Wann, and Thomas H. Naylor, the authors explain affluenza, and how it causes overwork, personal stress, the erosion of family and community, high debt, and the growing dissatisfaction for current living. A large contributor to affluenza is advertisement, a tactic that encourages over consumption by purchasing items irrationally. The sports industry has been taken over by advertisement, allowing corporations to take full advantage of the satisfaction that sports entertainment brings to the fans.

Statistics show that today companies spend nearly $17 billion annually marketing to kids. This paper will explore the effect that advertisements have on the growing mind of a child. It paper will support the view of the video “Consuming Kids” in the context that yes in fact advertising to children is a social problem and that adults should understand the seriousness of this matter; and they should also take steps to help the change the environment that their children are part of in-order to build a healthier future for them. The first section of the paper will take glimpses into early, tween and teen ages of a child and examine the social effects of technology and advertisement. The second section of the paper will discuss the

Affluenza is the theory that as people are able to buy more goods, their level of enjoyment from those purchases goes down (Affluenza). Since the 1950s, a trend of buying more and feeling less fulfilled as become prevalent among Americans. This has lead to a country where hyper commercialism, materialism, and the “buy now, pay later” motto have become the norm. However, despite a clear epidemic of affluenza rearing it’s head in America, recent years have shown a slow progression towards finding a cure.

In order to get people to want to spend their hard-earned money, individuals need to be motivated and persuaded. More importantly, people need to be manipulated into thinking that to feel happy, whole and worthy, they have to consume. This single path between material and well-being, paved by the grasps of media and advertisement, gives rise to the self-poisoning consumer-infatuated society present today. Modern day obsession with the consumerist lifestyle, transforms the American, regardless of

Many people don’t like to think of themselves as materialistic or snobbish, even though it’s clear that they are. There’s this disease that’s going around, it’s called Affluenza. Affluenza is something that is, believe it or not considered a disease. “Affluenza is an unhappy condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.” Meaning people are unnecessarily spending money on items they don’t really need. In the “Affluenza” video, they talked about how much people spend on materialistic items, and it’s worth millions of dollars. Advertising is the reason why people spend so much money on things they think they need. Especially with all the new gadgets and equipment coming out in 2016, people can’t help but feel the need to spend money on everything new. Society likes to keep up with everything that’s new. No one wants to be perceived as “old fashion.” This is how people become materialistic and begin to overconsume. This could link to a psychological illness, most commonly known as retail therapy. Materialistic people are more likely to

Consumer culture can be defined as a free enterprise in which its main focal point is on selling the consumer goods while spending the consumer money. An individual’s way of purchasing merchandise that reflects their anatomy and appearance. Meanwhile media enables an easier portrayal of consumer culture by exemplifying an America based on consumerism since the dawn of the industrialization. Along comes conspicuous consumption, the act of purchasing the luxury lifestyle to portray a euphoria of one’s being. Many embellish this lifestyle to elicit a better view of class. In American society, consumer culture has three major effects; the overspending of the masses, America’s overexposure to advertising, and the systemization of class caused by

Some people always have to have the latest and the best product available which may cause financial stress. Consumerism and money are both huge reasons why most households argue and have disputes. Advertising is starting to play a bigger role on the economy and culture than people think. Everyone needs to open their eyes and realize it, and accept that the times are changing rapidly. As long as there is something to sell, there is always something to advertise. Advertisers are relentless when it comes to trying to make society feel like they need a certain product. Advertisers make a competition of consumerism to where a person judged based on the way they live and what possessions they have to boost that person’s social position. According to Zoe Gannon and Neal Lawson in The Advertising Effect “The major argument society has with the advertising environment is that it should not happen in stealth; instead it should be discussed in the open and ultimately up to the society to decide what, when, where and how something is advertised. Today, there is very little spaced that a person’s eye can fall on that doesn’t have some kind of branded image on it. Advertisers are now starting to use a new strategy by targeting adolescences. “Kids 12 and under are the most influenced by advertisements” Gannon, Lawson. This is a very powerful and successful strategy for businesses. Most parents will buy their

Parents will always want the very best for their children, but at what point are the values of going with the “newest and latest” instilling in a child’s set of values. Children can be exposed to 40,000 commercials a year (McBride, MSN, RN, 1). Children spend a total of $35.6 billion out of their own money on marketed products, on the other side of that $187 billion is contributed by parents and caregivers influenced by their children (Mercer, 26). But, wouldn’t it be more meaning full to appeal to an audience which trumps children spending in marketing by $151.4 billion. Unfortunately marketers are only looking for the money in the moment not to look for long-term consumers. For a consumer to make a difference in an ever schematic market some difficult changes must be made. Consumers should not buy products that use commercials to target children and young audiences, marketers should be focusing there advertisements on consumers who are financially capable to purchase the product.

Thorstein Veblen once said, “Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure” (Veblin, 1899). Respectively, Veblen argues that individuals consume commodities and services to demonstrate a high socio-economic position, from the perspective of others in society (Tepperman, Albanese, & Curtis, 2014, p. 117). This can be seen as a social problem, issues that require community acknowledgment and action to respond to issues at hand. (Tepperman & Curtis, 2011, p. 3). This paper will discuss the growing concern of materialistic children as a global crisis and recognizing catalysts that fuel the adolescent addiction to consumption. The current capitalist system that looms over society relies on the principle that children from an early age must become consumers to ensure global economies prosper through mass individual spending on goods and services (Preston, 2005; O'Barr, 2008). Mass organizations market young people as a lucrative source of profit by consuming commodities (Tepperman, Albanese, & Curtis, 2014, p. 66). Advertisements focus on explaining a commodity to children, by exciting their interests and how it can be used, whereas marketing focuses on pastime activities and behaviours of children (Preston, 2005). Children view approximately forty-thousand advertisements annually (Ramsey, 2006; Strasburger, 2006). The first part of this paper will discuss the history and techniques of advertisers to train children to be consumers

The advertising business views teenagers in society as a viable market section, due to their immature understanding of the media and its dazzling impact on teen and young undeveloped brains. The media is progressively specializing in children and adolescents to captivate with advertisements. according to market research corporations, teenagers are vital to marketers because they can pay a considerable open income, spend family cash easily, and they are easily able to influence their families to spend on massive and little household purchases that are appealing to them. furthermore, children are also a viable market because they 'll easily influence, lifestyle, and overall trends; and supply a view of society and how it 's currently and

Advertising has a large impact on today’s youth. This impact is largely created through use of commercials on television. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention published an article which explains that food commercials are one of the major components of advertising and they are leading to an increase in health and weight problems in children. In addition to this, psychologists such as Sandra L. Calvert have discovered that commercials give children a distorted sense of reality and can lead to personality conflicts. Parents and scientists alike have found that advertisements also can cause self esteem issues in young people, and this is a major concern. In conclusion, the negative effects of advertising on children are alarming.

How much are ads part of everyday life? The New York Times recorded a study by Yankelovich, a market research firm, and they estimated that people living in a city see up to 5,000 or more advertisements a day. By the same token, children are heavily exposed to advertising, and most of the ads today are directed right at them. Advertising to children is a big part of the market today. Therefore, advertisers should not market to children because it is unethical. It can influence children’s behavior in a negative fashion, and markets can exploit children, and can use the media to reach children at young ages even though they are not able to understand its intent.