‘Tis the season for our wishlists to be purchased and our trees to shade our gifts. Every year, we make Christmas lists and send them to our loved ones: parents, significant others, aunts, uncles and even cousins. For some, everything on the list is fulfilled, leading to a closet full of new clothes and shoes. This list changes every year, and new things get added to our inventory – but when is it enough? How many Christmases must go by until we have everything that we desire?
The items that we place on our Christmas lists often come from TV ads or videos we watched on TikTok. The internet always finds a way to show you things that you don’t have. That’s what advertisements are for; they convince you that you don’t have this new product, and for that reason alone, you need it.
A persuasion tactic many influencers use is the idea that you need to be like them. They tend to have a following of individuals who look up to them, and that admiration leads their audience to purchase the products that they advertise. All this is done by the viewer to become more like their idol. Especially in today’s society, where everyone wants to be someone, the performance of following others is ingrained in our minds. We lose touch with what we really want and fall in line with what’s trending.
With new trends come new items we need to have to keep up, leading us into a never-ending cycle of consumption. When we get things, they go out of style, and with constant use, they become mundane. Getting fresh items also makes us feel good; it’s exciting. We get a dopamine boost every time we buy something new. Christmas is the perfect time to feel that rush of happiness because you get a multitude of new stuff. Hence why, it’s the “most wonderful time of the year.”
Why can’t people be satisfied with what they have? One reason could be that perhaps people aren’t happy with who they are. We always look to be better than who we are now. Many of us tend to drown ourselves in materialistic things to make ourselves feel like we are becoming the person we want to be. It all boils down to a lack of worth, which makes many of us feel like what we have isn’t enough.
People find themselves needing more clothes to fit the style they want to emulate. Why do they want to fit a specific style? Many want to look like the person they want to be, and when we fit the image we want for ourselves, we get a confidence boost. Getting fresh stuff makes us feel like we’re becoming something, like we’re taking steps toward self-improvement.
It’s natural to want to better ourselves, and certain products can help, but on social media, it’s easier to feel insecure than confident. We often get misled by the media, which leads us to lose ourselves by mimicking others. When one lacks self-confidence, they’re more susceptible to persuasion from advertisements and videos that claim to have what they need. As a result, a never-ending cycle of overconsumption arises.
So, when is it enough? In this society, it seems like we will never have enough. We will always strive for more, no matter where we are in life. The idea of getting something new is what excites us most, not Santa Claus.
As Benjamin Franklin once said, “The more a man has, the more he wants.” So this Christmas, maybe the best gift under that tree is nothing at all.
