Shop till you drop?

There's always something that you can spend your money on. There's always a faster car, a more luxurious house, a larger mountain cabin or a more exclusive holiday on offer out there that's yours for the grabbing. If you've got the dough, that is. And the more you spend, the happier you get?

In the less than five decades that I've been around on this planet, a phenomenon has emerged that seems more widespread now than ever: CBD, compulsive buying disorder. The people who are addicted to this type of uninhibited, ruinous type of shopping, are called shopaholics. And its no wonder that their number keeps on growing. We're the generation of the quick fix and instant gratification of whatever indulgence there may be. We're the have-it-alls who still cannot picture a tomorrow without instant access to more: more gadgets, more household items, more trophies to be carried home as living proof of our ever swelling purchasing power.

I SHOP, THEREFORE I AM

And ubiquitous commercials or ads incessantly push us to the brink of bust as we're told it's not fashionable to resist the urge - to shop. It's as if it's wrought into the fabric of the postmodern lifestyle that non-stop shopping is a necessity. Not only may it secure your position among the stylish and the chic; it's also a some kind of antidote against boredom, or an easily accessible avenue you can travel down to find fulfillment. It's become, in the eyes of some, a defining element of the postmodern male and female: I shop, therefore I am.

But we're most likely not any happier from our current overspending than we were forty years ago - before the discovery of our (then) vast oil and gas resources. Certainly, our huge GNP boost has meant that an even broader section of society has been able to tap into the boons of our welfare state system. Which cannot in any way be regarded as a drawback. The blessedness of having little is an illusion, but, then again, so perhaps is the blessedness of having too much?

STAVING OFF DEPRESSION?

Teens e.g. consume more today than ever before. And are increasingly finding themselves haunted by depression, fear of the future, and anxiety. Why is that? Because no matter what you spend, contentment may yet elude you. The newest mp3 player cannot compensate for the loss of father or mother through divorce. And the hottest Victoria Beckham pair of jeans offers the victim of bullying little in the way of consolation and recovery.

Moderation used to be a virtue in our country. But as virtue is not in vogue any longer, so it seems that moderation has been escorted to our front door, and told never to return again. Thus we are left alone to pursue our vain ambition of safeguarding our dwindling sense of happiness through repeated series of spending sprees.

MY 16GB MP3 PLAYER

I bought myself a new mp3 player just before Xmas. It is a lot cooler than my previous one, and has a storage capacity of up to 16 GB. But I feel no happier from having purchased it. It only allows me to listen to more songs without interruption than was the case with the old 1GB capacity player.

And you know what? When I die, my mp3 player will have to stay behind. As will my bike, our fridge, my books, CDs, DVDs, our car, our house. Maybe I should revisit our old friend moderation after all? It may not be a bad idea.