Affluenza Essay

Affluenza Essay

Affluenza is a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more. It is a powerful virus that has infected the American society, threatening our wallets, our friendships, our families, our communities, and our environment. Since the United States has become the economic model for most of the world this virus is now flowing freely on every continent. The costs and consequences of this disease are massive even though they are often concealed. Left untreated however, it can cause permanent discontent. Affluenza is based on our culture and how it encourages its citizens to measure their worth by financial success and material possessions. The media such as the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...The problem is that it only makes them feel better for a short while and eventually leaves them feeling empty. We are now said to be a "harried leisure class starved for time. Economic growth entails a general increase in the scarcity of time." They say it is as simple as this: increased susceptibility to affluenza means increasing headaches from time pressure. The pace of work has seemed to increase dramatically and we are working much faster today than we were in the past. This contributes to our sense of being overworked, frenzied, harried, stressed out, and burned out by our jobs. Affluenza has been found to be a family problem as well. "There is a tension between materialism and family values." Family life is often viewed by parents as instilling competitive values in their children so they can compile the best resumes, go to the best college to get the best jobs to earn the most money. The number of families that are regularly eating together and going on a vacation together has dropped by a third since 1970. Overspending is one of the many conflicts that families face as well as the weakening of marriages. "The choices available to people in terms of products are so overwhelming. Whether you are going to buy a car or a bagel, there are so many choices. There's a feeling when you've bought something that maybe you didn't make the right choice, maybe you missed something. And it can't help but carry over into

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