More money, more problems? It might just be true. Americans today, compared to 55 years ago[1] , own twice as many cars and eat out twice as much per person, but we don't seem to be any happier because of it. Rather than rising levels of well-being, we've seen mounting credit card debt [2] and increasing numbers of self-storage facilities[3] to house the things we compulsively buy.


The holidays in particular have become a time when consumer culture comes out in full force. Black Friday, the annual post-Thanksgiving discount shopping spree, results each year in multiple deaths and injuries[4] of consumers trampled by crowds in stores and shopping malls.


In a poignant, viral Huffington Post blog last month, "If You Shop On Thanksgiving, You're Part Of The Problem,"[5] writer Matt Walsh cast a harsh light on what the holiday shopping frenzy really says about our culture:


That's our entire economic system: buy things. Everybody buy. It doesn't matter what you buy. Just buy. It doesn't matter if you don't have money. Just buy. Our entire civilization now rests on the assumption that, no matter what else happens, we will all continue to buy lots and lots of things. Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy. And then buy a little more. Don't create, or produce, or discover -- just buy. Never save, never invest, never cut back -- just buy. Buy what you don't need with money you don't have... Buy like you breathe, only more frequently.

To some extent, most of us participate in consumer culture and value material possessions, and that's perfectly fine. But in excess, materialism can take a toll on your well-being, relationships and quality of life. Here are six things you should know about the psychology of consumption -- and strategies to find freedom from materialism.


Consumer culture may be harming individual well-being.


black friday shopping


Research suggests that Americans' well-being has, if anything, declined since the 1950s, according to the American Psychological Association[6] , while our consumption has only increased.


"Compared with their grandparents, today's young adults have grown up with much more affluence, slightly less happiness and much greater risk of depression and assorted social pathology," David G. Myers, author of The American Paradox: Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty, wrote in an American Psychologist article[7] . "Our becoming much better off over the last four decades has not been accompanied by one iota of increased subjective well-being."


The materialistic values that consumer cultures support may be to blame. Those who pursue wealth and material possessions tend to be less satisfied and experience fewer positive emotions each day[8] . On the other hand, research has found that life satisfaction -- surprise, surprise -- is correlated[9] with having less materialistic values.


Materialist values are linked to Type-A behavior.


woman office looking out


Are you highly ambitious and competitive? It could mean you're also more materialistic. Australian research from the 1990s[10] found materialist values and a possessions-based definition of success share common characteristics with type-A behaviors, including competitiveness and aggression. A 2008 study published in the Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology[11] reiterated the finding that the desire to accumulate wealth and possessions is related to Type-A qualities.


Money really can't buy you happiness.


rich people


The Beatles wisely noted that money can't buy love, and we'd do well to remember that money can't buy happiness, either. Research has shown that there is no direct correlation between income and happiness. Once our basic needs are met, wealth makes very little difference to one's overall well-being and happiness. And in fact, extremely wealthy people actually suffer from higher rates of depression[12] .


“The failure of additional wealth and consumption to help people have satisfying lives may be the most eloquent argument for reevaluating our current approach to consumption,” the authors of Worldwatch Institute's 2011 State of Consumption report wrote[13] .


Some data[14] , however, has suggested that there could be a link between higher income and increased life satisfaction. It seems that it may not be the money itself that leads to dissatisfaction, but rather, the continual striving for greater wealth and more possessions that is linked to unhappiness[15] .


Materialism could ruin your relationships.


divorce


Can money buy you love? Not so much, and according to a study published in the Journal Of Couple & Marriage Therapy[16] , materialism is actually correlated with unhappiness in marriages. Researchers studied more than 1,700 couples to find that those in which both partners had high levels of materialism exhibited lower marital quality than couples with lower materialism scores. Previous studies [17] have found that students with higher extrinsic, materialistic values tend to have lower-quality relationships, and to feel less connected to others.


Materialistic people also typically have less pro-social and empathetic qualities[18] , both towards others and towards the environment.


Consumer cultures may breed narcissistic personalities.


woman selfie


Some psychologists have suggested that consumer cultures may contribute to the development of narcissistic personalities and behaviors, "by focusing individuals on the glorification of consumption," psychologist Tim Kasser wrote in The High Price Of Materialism.[19] Narcissists generally act with arrogance and are deeply concerned with issues of personal adequacy, seeking power and prestige to cover for feelings of inner emptiness and low-self worth, Kasser explains[20] .


"Narcissists' desire for external validation fits well with our conception of materialistic values as extrinsic and focused on others' praise," he writes[21] . "Thus it was not surprising to find that students with strong materialistic tendencies scored high on a standard measure of narcissism, agreeing with statements such as 'I am more capable than other people' ... 'I wish somebody would write my biography someday.'"


Consumerism is fueled by insecurity -- and remedied by mindfulness.


mindfulness practice


Research suggests that materialistic values are fueled by insecurity[22] . A 2002 study published in the journal Psychology and Marketing found that those who chronically doubt themselves and their own self-worth tend to be more materialistic.


Consumerism -- which has been called a "modern religion" [23] -- tends to capitalize on this insecurity and use it to sell products.


"In a practical sense, consumerism is a belief system and culture that promotes consuming as the path to self- and social improvement," Stephanie Kaza, University of Vermont Environment Professor and Buddhism practitioner, wrote in Tricycle: The Buddhist Review[24] . "As a dominant cultural force, consumerism offers products to address every dissatisfaction."


So what's the antidote? Mindfulness[25] -- the focused awareness on the present moment, which can be cultivated through meditation and contemplative practice -- may be an effective remedy [26] to empty or compulsive consumption. As beat writer and American Buddhist thinker Allen Ginsberg put it in a 1966 letter to the Washington Post[27] : "You own twice as much rug if you're twice as aware of the rug."


Americans are redefining success beyond money and power.


hiking


Our collective definition of the American Dream is slowly starting to change from one of materialism to a more purposeful idea of what it means to live the good life. According to the 2013 LifeTwist study[28] , only around one-quarter of Americans still believe that wealth determines success.


"Dozens of the survey’s findings reflect a new American notion of success, but perhaps none more starkly than the sentiment that Americans ranked 'having a lot of money' 20th on a list of 22 possible contributors to having a successful life," the LifeTwist Study's authors wrote in a press release[29] . "This sentiment mirrors the steadily rising trend ... that Americans are increasingly placing greater priority on living a fulfilling life –- in which being wealthy is not the most significant factor."



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  • The Farm, Lewis County, Tennessee


    In 1971, a group of 300 flower children and free-thinkers left San Francisco to blaze a trail out east, settling in rural Tennessee to become the founders of what is now America's oldest hippie commune. <a href="http://www.thefarmcommunity.com/" target="_blank">The Farm</a>, located just outside Summertown, Tennessee, is still around to this day, and was the subject of the 2012 documentary "American Commune." Now composed of roughly 200 members, the vegetarian intentional community was founded on -- and still lives by -- their core values of nonviolence and respect for the environment.




  • Green Bank, West Virginia


    Green Bank, West Virginia is a safe haven away from the reach of technology where the "electrosensitive" can come to escape the digital world. The small town is located in a U.S. National Radio Quiet Zone, a 13,000–square-mile area where electromagnetic radiation (yes, that includes WiFi and cell phone signals) is banned so as not to disturb the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. About 150 people have moved to Green Bank and created a community for the precise purpose of escaping radiation, which they believe is harmful to their health. “Life isn’t perfect here. There’s no grocery store, no restaurants, no hospital nearby,” <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/04/green_bank_w_v_where_the_electrosensitive_can_escape_the_modern_world.single.html" target="_blank">a resident of the town recently told Slate</a>. “But here, at least, I'm healthy. I can do things. I'm not in bed with a headache all the time.”




  • Arcosanti, Arizona


    The "urban laboratory" that is Arcosanti was first created in the 1970s in the Arizona desert 70 miles north of Phoenix as a social experiment of sorts, and it's still standing to this day. Citizens of Arcosanti collaborate in creating and selling their signature product, ceramic and bronze wind bells, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/02/16/garden/20120216-ARCOSANTI-2.html" target="_blank">according to The New York Times</a>. The roughly 50 inhabitants of the community ("arconauts") continue living out founder Paolo Soleri's idea of "arcology" -- architecture fused with ecology.




  • Finca Bellavista Sustainable Treehouse Community, Costa Rica


    Finca Bellavista is probably the closest that real life can get to Swiss Family Robinson. The sustainable treehouse community is comprised of more than 25 elevated structures, as well as a base camp community center, located deep in the Costa Rica rainforest more than a mile and a half from the nearest town. Its typical resident is a laid-back, environmentally conscious American expatriate, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/finca-bellavista-2012-7?op=1" target="_blank">according to founders Erica and Matt Hogan</a>, who started building Finca in 2006. "In general, people [who live here] want a simpler lifestyle," <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/finca-bellavista-2012-7?op=1" target="_blank">Hogan told Business Insider</a>. "They want a life less ordinary. They're usually very green, environmentally-conscious and want to live off the grid."




  • Twin Oaks, Virginia


    Founded in 1967, the intentional community of Twin Oaks is one of the most successful of that era. The small commune is situated on 450 acres of land in Louisa, Virginia and is famous for its tofu. Approximately 100 residents live in the community now, which consists of seven group houses along with a gathering area, swimming hole, graveyard, soy production facility, several greenhouses, and more. "Of the thousands of similar communal experiments forged throughout the ’60s and ’70s, Twin Oaks is one of only a handful to have survived," <a href="http://theclustermag.com/2013/04/working-in-a-moneyless-world-2/" target="_blank">Cluster Magazine wrote in a recent profile</a>, "as other utopian experiments collapsed under the pressure of self-sustainability and interpersonal drama."




  • New Songdo City, Korea


    Whereas most of these communities are a throwback to a simpler time, New Songdo City on the South Korean coast is an ambitious new community project that couldn't be more futuristic-looking. Scheduled for completion in 2015, New Songdon will be located on Incheon Bay, and will include city-wide WiFi integration and will be highly environmentally friendly. The city will be built from scratch, like Dubai or Abu Dhabi. "They’re promising full technological integration," <a href="http://www.salon.com/2010/08/15/in_utopia_interview/" target="_blank">Hallman told Salon</a>. "Lamps and tables and cars and everything will be computerized and on a network. You won’t even need a BlackBerry or a laptop."




  • Yogaville, Buckingham, Virginia


    Virginia's <a href="http://www.yogaville.org/about-us/yogaville/" target="_blank">Satchidananda Ashram</a> and the surrounding community is known as Yogaville, a space where people of diverse backgrounds have come together to live the yogic lifestyle. The holistic community was founded by Sri Swami Satchidananda, a spiritual leader who aspired to share his message of peace with like-minded others. As the community's website <a href="http://www.yogaville.org/about-us/yogaville/" target="_blank">describes itself</a>, "We came from various places. We have various tastes, various temperaments, various faces, various beliefs, but we are living here as one family, helping each other."




  • The Ecovillage at Ithaca, New York


    Created in 1996, <a href="http://ecovillageithaca.org/evi/index.php/about/about" target="_blank">Ithaca's Ecovillage</a> is a sustainable intentional community and education center which describes itself as an "alternative model for suburban living which provides a satisfying, healthy, socially rich lifestyle, while minimizing ecological impact." It currently has two 30-home co-housing neighborhoods, named "Frog" and "Song," with plans to build a third (the forthcoming "Tree"), as well as community gardens and organic farms.




  • Polestar Yoga Community, Big Island, Hawaii


    A cooperative yoga and meditation community located on Hawaii's Big Island around 30 miles south of the city of Hilo, Polestar was founded on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the best-selling 1946 spiritual manifesto "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-Yogi-Complete-Paramahansa-Yogananda/dp/0876120796" target="_blank">Autobiography of a Yogi</a>." The community lives by its core value of karma yoga (selfless service) and <a href="http://www.polestargardens.org/visionMission.php" target="_blank">essential purpose</a> of "deepening the spirit." Polestar consists of a small core community of permanent residents, but also welcomes guests to visit and stay on its 20 beautiful acres, enjoying the yoga temple, spiritual library, orchards and organic gardens. One guest <a href="http://www.polestargardens.org/RetreatsHawaiiYoga.php" target="_blank">described</a> it as "a strong environment for spiritual transformation."