Materialism could be the key to American feelings of loneliness People who spend money on experiences feel more connected to others than when they buy products Experiences also prompt fewer feelings of envy THURSDAY, May 23, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Materialism could be fueling America’s epidemic of loneliness and isolation, a new study claims. People who spend their money on experiences tend to have stronger feelings of social connection with others than those who purchase belongings, a series of psychological experiments has revealed. For example, people tend to feel more connection and kinship with people who have shared an experience -- a concert or a sports event -- than those who’ve purchased the same type of material good, like shoes.
“You feel a significantly stronger sense of connectedness when you find out that you just saw the same band in concert than when you learn you have the same shoes as someone else,” said researcher Amit Kumar , an assistant professor of marketing and psychology with the University of Texas at Austin. To test how spending patterns affect a person’s sense of belonging, Kumar and colleagues conducted a series of seven experiments involving more than 1,400 participants. Results showed that experiences are more tied to a person’s identity than material possessions.
The findings were published May 21 in the Journal of Behavioral Decision Making . “All of our buying habits are, to some extent, part of who we are, and they can connec.