Stuffocation

Stuffocation:  Why We’ve Had Enough of Stuff and Need Experience More Than Ever by James Wallman      Hardback Book: 281 pages        

Excellent book – a user friendly mind expansion on having stuff vs. having experiences.    Wallman takes the reader along on a journey through the industrial revolution to present day then forecasts the future trends from the perspective of the constant pursuit of lesser things that is currently happening as opposed to the pursuit of acquiring more and more possessions that had been the norm post World War II.   There is a current trend in people minimizing their carbon footprint that is catching on worldwide.    People are buying less stuff.   People are moving to smaller houses.   There is a sector of society that promotes minimizing the things you own rather than the old way of thinking that one must show one’s status by owning more and more and then flaunt your status by all the expensive things you have.     The current direction society is leaning toward tends to applaud reusing or repurposing items that one now owns rather than buying something new.     Recycling is much more mainstream now.    Reselling is very much the norm for things in good shape but not wanted, but, a far more powerful mindset is coming to the fore – Reduce!     People are reducing the amount of things they buy.    They are reducing the damage done to the planet from overuse of the limited resources.    Reduce, reuse, recycle are all words common to the ear but more than that they are becoming common practices and that is a good thing.     With marketing firms bombasting the human psyche with ads in magazines, newspapers, on t.v., radio and even the internet, human beings are on sensory overload constantly.   We are told all these products we need both outright and by subliminal seduction.   Ad firms play with our brains as psychologically strategic as the attacking armies in A Game of Thrones.     Ads play on our emotions, woo us with promises, tempt us with delectable gotta have goodies even though we may not really want or need the products being thrust upon us.   It takes a strong constitution to say NO!  Enough!   That is why ad companies make billions of dollars.     However, they are pushing things not experiences.      James Wallman, the author, is a trend forecaster, a journalist and a speaker.    He has done extensive research on the way of things to come and sees people are moving from materialism (stock piling stuff) to a culture bent more on doing than having.     People are creating memories rather than toting around material goods.    People are sharing cars rather than having to buy them.     People are visiting places having fun experiences rather than buying a bunch of stuff that in retrospect doesn’t make them happy.    The memories are what is making people happy.    While the GNP does not track experientialism yet, it still tracks product consumption at this time, however those experts doing the tracking of such are having to rethink their statistical processes in keeping with the changes in how consumers are living and spending.    An interesting look and speculation on where life is headed.