I’m a Consumer Addict, But I Draw the Line at Salacious Gossip

 

Dear Herculodge,

 

I’m your typical modern day consumer, a man addicted to shopping, the Internet, sales, and the general hype of the “next big thing.” I ache with guilt for having become so helpless in my addictions and for becoming so superficial in my materialistic longings. And my friends and associates are similar. We all “bond” by our consumer choices. It’s as if consumerism is our only pathetic way for some kind of shared experience.

 

But I see hope. Recently, a lot of hubbub has been made of a famous baseball player divorcing his wife as he pursues a romance with a pop singer. And the good news is this: I find myself completely indifferent, even a bit disdainful, of the salacious gossip that this scenario is generating. Does my lack of interest in tabloid news suggest that there’s hope for me? That behind my superficial shell of ardent materialism is a deep, sensitive soul waiting to be awakened?

 Dear Reader,

 

While disdaining the prurient gossip that permeates our culture is no panacea for your psychological and spiritual woes, it does indeed point toward an exit sign so that you may free yourself from your current malaise.

 

On one hand, you must not puff with pride for being “above” the gossip de jour. On the other hand, you must not sink into the despair of having capitulated so thoroughly, as you describe, to the seductions of modern day consumerism. You must fight the extremes of pride and despair as you look at the root causes of your consumer addiction.

 

And what those root causes might be? Consumerism is usually a fraudulent substitute for a sense of connection, belonging, and creativity.

 

Whatever creative interests you have, pursue them with more ardor.

 

Regarding connection and belonging, that will be more difficult as our society in too many cases is blind to the fact that connection is an invaluable part of a healthy, thriving culture. As a result, loneliness is a pervasive part of modern life and consumerism, which offers the false promise of popularity and belonging, springs from the ache that loneliness produces.

 

Hopefully knowing that consumerism springs from loneliness will give you pause next time you feel compelled to click on the “Buy Now” button of whatever shopping Internet sign you happen to be looking at.