Materialism is the tendency to consider material possessions and comfort more significant than spiritual values. Individuals have become obsessed with the idea of possessing things. Ranking of social classes has been based on the things that someone owns. Materialism has become a force that makes humans dejected, self-centered, and ungrateful creatures.

In today’s society, people are more likely to develop materialistic tendencies. It has consumed our lives. The desire to have designer and namebrand apparel and objects has become an obsession. To buy clothes for a love of fashion is not materialistic, but buying clothes to impress others is materialistic.

Social media has played a big part in materialism. When people post their designer clothes, cars, houses, etc. on social media, people become green-eyed and greedy. People have become fixated with the idea that buying and owning things will make them happy, but true happiness does not come from material objects.

The disadvantages of materialistic tendencies include debt, sadness, and fake happiness. Most people feel that they need approval from others, and to get that approval, people buy things that may be expensive so that they can be noticed by others. Humans are very quick to judge each other based on appearance, which enhances materialism. Some people begin to hate others just because they have nice things while they may not. Negative feelings arise from materialism and cause sadness and jealousy.

Minimalism has become a budding interest to many. Minimalism is a lifestyle. The minimalistic lifestyle is all about living with less, including financial burdens and debt. Minimalism is one of the alternatives to materialism.

Minimalism encourages people to let go of things that do not spark happiness. Starting a minimalistic lifestyle is not easy; it takes a lot of time, convincing, and determination. When starting this new chapter of life, people may want to look around their house and ask themselves if a particular object sparks joy. Depending on the answer, one should place the object in one of the three corresponding piles: keep, discard, or donate.

There are so many benefits of converting to a minimalistic lifestyle. For instance, people get out of debt, they have less stress, it is good for the environment, and it is more comfortable to clean their living spaces. Another benefit is that people will have more time on their hands, which means a more productive lifestyle. People can travel more since they will not have to worry about money and their belongings.

Materialism is a lifestyle that has become the norm. Most people do not even know that they have materialistic tendencies. Minimalism offers a happy and more productive way to live. Materialism has altered how our minds think about objects.