The Affluenza infection

John De Graaf, David Wann, Thomas H. Naylor’s book Affluenza  describes Affluenza as “a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.” I thought that it was a perfect topic for discussion especially since this course is about convincing people to buy.  This book talks about the American values that are disappearing as people become engrossed in gaining ever more material goods. Families are getting torn apart, buried under financial ruin while their debts keep piling up because they cannot seem to stop buying stuff even if they cannot afford it. The long hours needed to provide the things they deem necessary are also weakening the bonds of families. Parents are forgetting the most important thing that children need is love, acceptance and their parents to be there for them. Relationships are falling apart because people are not spending enough time together. The wasteful consumption is destroying the world as we eat our way through non-renewable resources with no thought of the future. We have forgotten that less is more. This is one book that I would recommend reading.

Are you suffering from Affluenza?