Affluenza has been described by the writer and economist Richard Denniss, as “that strange desire we feel to spend money we don’t have to buy things we don’t need to impress people we don’t know”. Author and psychologist, Oliver James, describes Affluenza as a virus. You can check whether if you have Affluenza by taking various tests in James' book, which is simply called, Affluenza. You may agree with some of the following statements if you are suffering from Affluenza:
- I would like to be a very wealthy person.
- I would like to have my name known by many people.
- I would like to successfully hide the signs of ageing.
- I would like to have people comment often about how attractive I look.
- I often compare what I own with what others own.
- Shopping and thinking about what to buy greatly preoccupy me.
- I'm less concerned about what work I do than what I get for it.
- I like to keep up with fashions in hair and clothing.
TV shows like Keeping Up With The Kardashians exhibit conspicuous consumption and materialism. The Kardashian narcissism is offered up proudly. And sadly, we all see young women about town trying to make themselves into Kim Kardashian clones, even when they are blonde and blue-eyed and naturally as white as a ghost. These women gush about their thrill at buying a Kardashian brand handbag and swap ideas about how they can make their flat posterior as prominent as Kim's. These young women are stuck in a hall of mirrors, believing that true love entails getting a ring more expensive than a house and beauty involves injections and operations that turn you into the right product. Whatever happened to Oscar Wilde's words of wisdom "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
