I had lunch with some Turkish friends today. Later it struck me funny that most of our conversation centered on the new shopping centers and which shopping mall had the best sales. While driving back to my office, the radio station I like to listen to had a guest talking about concerns in the Turkish economy.Also, I’ve received some interesting replies to the article “Money, Money, Money.”
Here are a couple of excerpts:
* One person wrote that he is an insomniac who catalog-shops at Ikea and has a dead-end job. He is falling deeper and deeper into debt because he sees things he thinks he must have. His credit cards are nearly maxed out.
When I read this young man’s letter I immediately thought of the film “The Fight,” based on a novel by Chuck Palahniuk, which says, “Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy things we don’t need.”
* A Turkish lady in her 30s who has a career says on her lunch hour she goes shopping and in the evening she watches the Turkish Shopping Channel. She confessed that she often phones in a purchase because she sees others buying the items, making her assume that it must be something that she should get, too. She wrote that she is not in debt yet but that she has accumulated a lot of things that she really does not need.
Don’t we all know that if you watch any of the Turkish television channels you will quickly become familiar with certain advertisers who promote their merchandise and aim to convince you that you must have the item?
I remember once when I went shopping with my mother, we walked through a department store and I commented on how aggressive the saleswomen were in the cosmetic section. She replied, “Honey, they are just trying to make a living.” I thought to myself she’s right -- and it has never bothered me like it did that one time.
Foreigners often comment on how aggressive Turks are at the Grand Bazaar. But it’s universal, everyone is just trying to make a little more.
It is interesting being from a Western country that leads in consumerism and capitalism. I see trends there and then wait and watch how it spreads here. With globalization, materialism is spreading quicker than ever.
Sadly, just like in the West where divorce has been on the increase, you see the same trends here. Foreigners are often surprised when I tell them that divorce is higher than ever here. Twenty years ago divorce lawyers were few and far between! Today it is easy to find one
The fight? Custody and consumerism. Fighting over possessions and people -- the children always suffer.
What does a parent do when they have time with their child they just see on the weekend? They go to the mall. They purchase something for the child to show love or buy the child’s love.
In America, researchers have found that low self-esteem and materialism do not just have a correlation but are also a causal relationship in which low self-esteem increases materialism and materialism can create low self-esteem. Based on research conducted by staff at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and the University of Minnesota, the study showed self-esteem is closely linked to materialism.
Did you know that as self-esteem increases, materialism decreases, which provides a way to cope with insecurity?
Countries around the world are facing economic challenges because of people spending too much on credit cards. Pressure to have what your neighbor has is just as real here. Foreigners often think of Turkey as being simpler than it really is. Often they come to Turkey with the wrong idea and are surprised when they get here to find you can get whatever you want for a price. Turkey has some extremely poor people and well as some that are extremely wealthy. Then of course, you have the middle class. Nearly everyone strives to be like someone who has something they don’t.
My friends would be considered as part of the middle class. They did not write me a letter on this subject, but they did tell me what they think, namely: “We all agree most people are trying to be like the next person. We think it will make us feel good. But the hidden cost is much higher than we realize. There are costs in happiness when people believe that their value is extrinsic.”
I’d like to know your opinion on this: “Most of us want more income so we can consume more. Yet as societies become richer, they do not become happier.” (Richard Layard)
