We aren't taught the difference between want and need
In western society especially we are big spenders on everything and anything it has got too such a bad point where people seem to know longer understand the difference between something they want and what they need. We are starting to grow up in a society where people value fame so highly and people idolize it to such an extent it begins to warp peoples perceptions of reality and on top of that we have so many aggressive add campaigns, we are just constantly shown people saying how much better they feel for having material goods and if we don't have them awful things will happen to us.
As I said this can really warp peoples sense of reality especially for people that are easily led which is starting to cause a lot of issues for people of all backgrounds. We are shown by what is around us that we need material goods to be happy and that if you don't have a vast amount of material wealth you just can't be happy which isn't the case and it could be strongly argue that in fact the direct opposite is what makes people happy.
Having too much:
If you look at communities that put lower emphasis on material goods such as Amish people they generally suffer from much lower rates of anxiety and depression, Amish people also are given the opportunity to live in larger cities when they turn 18 after which they can decide whether they want to return to their Amish community or remain outside of the community. The vast majority return to the Amish communities and say the main reason being the simple way of life brings them much less stress and there is just a lot less to worry about.
We are even seeing today an ever growing movement of people living a minimalist lifestyle, this lifestyle consists of getting rid of the bulk of what you have and don't need so that you can change your way of thinking from focusing on having more to feel happy to focusing and finding out what actually makes you happy. Now for the most part the minimalist movement from what I see consist of your average middle class person who seems to own a lot of things so it can be hard to compare there situation to that of others, however I still see the general idea behind the movement as a pretty good way of doing things as one having tons of clutter causes stress.
When you see people clearing all the things out they don't need it shows just how bad the problem is of people trying to gain happiness from materiel objects
Personally I don't think a minimalist lifestyle is for me because I quite enjoy having a bit of clutter and I'm a bit of a hoarder but I agree with the philosophy that often less can be more because when you constantly buy what is new it makes you think when the next version comes out to stay happy you will need to get it.
False need leads to dissatisfaction:
I also think this lifestyle of need leads to people often being unhappy or dissatisfied because people truly think that to be happy they need a big house a new car and tons of things and in the effort to find happiness people buy things which gives them a little bit of excitement and they feel happy for a few hours maybe a day or two as they test out what they have just purchased, then the little burst of pleasure wears off and they look for the next thing. People are told that they need material goods so much that it is the main thing they try and gain happiness from, leaving themselves deprived of perspective. The focus on need has been so warped that even when people have all they need in front of them they neglect that, they don't think it is enough and get caught up in trying to gain and consume more and then they are left wondering why they feel so drained and its because they neglect basic human needs for superficial wants.
I think this goes to show that currently in many ways we are just being way to extravagant, the world is full to the brim of so much random stuff you are told you constantly need to be happy
it is no wonder that a lot of people aren't happy. There have been many surveys taken in the UK and around the world and the general consensus is that the split between happy and unhappy people is pretty close to being 50/50 which is insane to think especially in the UK that doesn't have much extreme poverty and there is no war going on, on our land and still half the people in the country are not happy.
When we look at what we actual need in life it is a very small amount of things, we need people around us, food, water, shelter and some form of purpose. Now there are many articles and long scholarly papers out there purely on what we need but they aren't very simple or digestible which is why I say I think you only need such simple things.
- To explain a little further by saying we need people around us I mean
a group of family or friends that love each other, being in a group
of people that all dislike you is rarely a healthy place to be for
extend periods of time.
Then as for food we really don't need a huge amount, just enough so
that we have a healthy diet, there is nothing wrong with having the
same meals each day either.Clean water, now with that you can look into it more deeply and say
that what is clean water because in many places like the majority of
america the water has chlorine and fluoride in which are both harmful
to people. Chlorine is there to clean the water so it is
understandable however it seems insane to be putting fluoride in
water that people drink because if you wanted to stop tooth decay why
not put it in something like toothpaste that people spit out rather
than having to consume a lot of a very dangerous chemical, but that
is something you could talk about for hours.Involved in shelter I would say a place you can actually survive in
so a place that provides shelter from the elements, warmth and a
place to sleep, cook and clean yourself.As for purpose I mean some sort of job or role, humans have developed as pack animals and in a pack each member has a role or a job they have to fulfill so naturally you need something or you will just become frustrated and unhappy and lose a lot of self worth.
Now everyone will agree that there are some smaller needs that are more menial but it would take to long to go into the difference between each person and what they need compared to everyone else but as basics to live and be happy these are the simple things I think you need.
Be happy with what you have:
Recently I watched a show on iplayer called 'Britain's Forgotten Men' The program follows a few different men of different ages who come from a working class background and it documents how they have been forgotten by society and the hardships that is causing them. I believe there are a few serious out there that I would recommend watching.
I am mentioning this because one man in particular perpetuated everything I am discussing in this post, he lived in an environment where he could live a happy life and raise a happy healthy family but that seemed far from the case because he so strongly believed he needed to be rich to be happy. Now you could tell the man was very bigoted and racist but that is the case for a lot of people in the country because they so strongly believe that they need the world for them to be happy.
He had enough to have north face clothes, a nice car, a phone, a home with clean running water and a full fridge, everything you need to be happy but sadly he is a product of our society and how we are taught that we need to be rich, now you can't blame society entirely but you also can't blame the man himself entirely as he is just one example of many similar people across the country so clearly there is something wrong with society.
Of course the situation of poverty in the UK is a very complex touchy area as anywhere else as the blame can be placed in a lot of places and it does come down to a lot of different things however one of the main issues is that we have such a warped view of need.
If people were taught that money isn't everything and you don't need tons of money and material possessions to be happy people would be a lot happier and more content but again it is a hard issue to solve as it comes down to more than just want and need but it's a good place to start.
My opinion:
Personally in many ways, like we all are, I am a product of my society and environment. I would like to be wealthy and there is a lot of things I want in life however when I realized that I don't need all the things I want it made me a lot happier and content because understanding want and need also helps gain perspective on what is important.
That is why I think as a society we need to work harder on teaching people the difference between wanting something and needing something and further than that you don't need a lot to be happy and focusing to much on material possessions can warp peoples views and make them lose touch with what actual makes people happy and content.