3 ms·

Millenials who are happier buy less.

by comonoid 4y ago

SaintSeiya84 4y ago
indeed, people buy stuff to fill a void in their lives, don't have the void? don't need to buy.
- notch898a 4y ago
  I started buying more shit once I was strapped down with family responsibilities. When I had little responsibilities going for a weeklong hike and camp or whatever is liberating and costs almost nothing so can save a lot. With a shrieking toddler you'll be very lucky if they tolerate something like that for 2 miles and a few hours, so the unhappiness of being unable to fulfill your goals gets replaced by some meager slivers of efficiency from material goods and home-based hobbies that cost money in the form of the rent to house the hobby if nothing else. I wonder how much of this is "I can no longer do the shit that I really enjoy for free, so I'm at least going to buy a nice lobster to eat in the 15 minutes I have before the next meltdown of the toddler or caretaking of the elderly parent."
  - bennysonething 4y ago
    You've just described what has been happening to me since becoming a parent. Suddenly consumer electronics matter to me because I'm stuck in the house a lot more. I regret my purchases. But if you can only watch movies in the house then a good TV and sound bar are nice.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - coolbreezetft22 4y ago
    Same thing happened to me. Since becoming a parent I've gotten back into video games like I was when I was a kid/teenager. Before I had my first kid we didn't even have a TV now there are 3 in my house. I also read a lot more books as well. It's much harder to just spontaneously go out and do stuff with friends. Even when the kids have been put to bed and are asleep you can't just leave the house so I end doing things at home like playing games. I've definitely had my share two mile hikes that end in whining and complaints but as they get older (6 and 3 now) it's gotten better and more activities open up
    - watwut 4y ago
      For me it was opposite. Having kid meant that most games became unplayable, because they are not designed to be played for 2 hours once a week when I happen to have time. They are designed to waste you huge amount of time.
- olliej 4y ago
  Alternatively people buy more stuff and are then financially stressed, making them less happy. The article doesn't really provide anything other that correlation, it doesn't show a causative link in either direction. It does however do that classic of providing just enough to fill people's preconceived notions (because the lack of causative link means that you can easily place your own personal causation).
sagarkamat 4y ago
THIS. I think the article has the causation backwards. Anecdotally, people who tend to be good with money are also the ones who have their shit together in other areas of life and are hence happier.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
bell-cot 4y ago
And not just Millenials. I've known a fair number of older folks who were clearly self-medicating with shopping.
randomdata 4y ago
Maybe, but, as a millennial, buying things makes me less happy. There is the initial agony over whether or not it is a worthwhile purchase and if I decide it is worthwhile there is regret that it wasn't quite what I expected to follow. Something has to really make me think that it will improve my life dramatically to consider accepting the pain.
mprime1 4y ago
“having makes up for the lack of being” (Badly translated from Italian: L’avere compensa per ma mancanza di essere)

Millenials who are happier buy less.

SaintSeiya84 4y ago

indeed, people buy stuff to fill a void in their lives, don't have the void? don't need to buy.

notch898a 4y ago
I started buying more shit once I was strapped down with family responsibilities. When I had little responsibilities going for a weeklong hike and camp or whatever is liberating and costs almost nothing so can save a lot. With a shrieking toddler you'll be very lucky if they tolerate something like that for 2 miles and a few hours, so the unhappiness of being unable to fulfill your goals gets replaced by some meager slivers of efficiency from material goods and home-based hobbies that cost money in the form of the rent to house the hobby if nothing else. I wonder how much of this is "I can no longer do the shit that I really enjoy for free, so I'm at least going to buy a nice lobster to eat in the 15 minutes I have before the next meltdown of the toddler or caretaking of the elderly parent."
- bennysonething 4y ago
  You've just described what has been happening to me since becoming a parent. Suddenly consumer electronics matter to me because I'm stuck in the house a lot more. I regret my purchases. But if you can only watch movies in the house then a good TV and sound bar are nice.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- coolbreezetft22 4y ago
  Same thing happened to me. Since becoming a parent I've gotten back into video games like I was when I was a kid/teenager. Before I had my first kid we didn't even have a TV now there are 3 in my house. I also read a lot more books as well. It's much harder to just spontaneously go out and do stuff with friends. Even when the kids have been put to bed and are asleep you can't just leave the house so I end doing things at home like playing games. I've definitely had my share two mile hikes that end in whining and complaints but as they get older (6 and 3 now) it's gotten better and more activities open up
  - watwut 4y ago
    For me it was opposite. Having kid meant that most games became unplayable, because they are not designed to be played for 2 hours once a week when I happen to have time. They are designed to waste you huge amount of time.
olliej 4y ago
Alternatively people buy more stuff and are then financially stressed, making them less happy. The article doesn't really provide anything other that correlation, it doesn't show a causative link in either direction. It does however do that classic of providing just enough to fill people's preconceived notions (because the lack of causative link means that you can easily place your own personal causation).

sagarkamat 4y ago

THIS. I think the article has the causation backwards. Anecdotally, people who tend to be good with money are also the ones who have their shit together in other areas of life and are hence happier.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

bell-cot 4y ago

And not just Millenials. I've known a fair number of older folks who were clearly self-medicating with shopping.

randomdata 4y ago

Maybe, but, as a millennial, buying things makes me less happy. There is the initial agony over whether or not it is a worthwhile purchase and if I decide it is worthwhile there is regret that it wasn't quite what I expected to follow. Something has to really make me think that it will improve my life dramatically to consider accepting the pain.

mprime1 4y ago

“having makes up for the lack of being” (Badly translated from Italian: L’avere compensa per ma mancanza di essere)