wild-hair theory of the moment

[schwap23]

the increased desire for commercial goods is directly related to the mind-numbingness of one's daily life. If one is living a James Bond-esque lifestyle, filled with skin of the teeth escapes, one does not find much desire to purchase the Lost season 4 box set, for example. OTOH, if one is fulfilling the role of another cog in the machine of life

Comments

[stealthymonkey]

I think you might be onto something.

[shadefell]

I have a lot of friends who work incredibly stressful jobs, long hours, with little time to relax or chill. They tend to spend money like water. They have apartments/houses with shelf after shelf filled with useless collectible after useless collectible. Hunting for this stuff gives them pleasure, and owning it is one of the few "proofs" of their success. They buy THINGS because their lives SUCK.

Of course, if they didn't have the jobs they had, they also wouldn't be able to afford rent/mortgage, have insurance, etc. So they are stuck in jobs that freak them out and are unhappy and are willing to buy Lost S4 to fill the void.