Week 9

This week I watched 3 TED talks with the related topic of consumerism and its effect on happiness.

The first was from speaker Graham Hill entitled "Less Stuff, More Happiness"
http://www.ted.com/talks/graham_hill_less_stuff_more_happiness.html

Essentially Graham made the point that by downsizing our material possessions we are opening up more space for freedom in our lives and a sense of ease.  I stopped for a moment to think of all the things I own, how much of it I actually use, and the time I spend maintaining all of it. I think this man has a point. If I could cut out the excess crap in my life I feel like I'd spend less time cleaning, fixing, and worrying about "stuff". Less things= mobility, and as a young person wanting to explore the world, that becomes important. While I do think he might push it to an extreme I do think it is important to cleanse your house every once in a while and make room for new experiences.

The second talk was from speaker Benjamin Wallace entitled, "The Price of Happiness"
http://www.ted.com/talks/benjamin_wallace_on_the_price_of_happiness.html

Benjamin's big question is "Can happiness be bought?" He explored this thought through indulging in some of the most ridiculous luxury items in existence, including a $160 cut of kobe beef, a pair of $800 jeans, and Kopi Luwak coffee. After exploring all of these things, he was unimpressed with most. After watching this talk I have to say that I was a little unimpressed with his speaking skills. Sure it was funny and there were a few laughs, but I think he lacked reasoning or at least a point in this talk. What I took from it is that people have a tendency to trick themselves into thinking that they're happy by surrounding themselves with lavish amenities and material goods. I agree, but I also think that for someone who can't afford to do that, there becomes a novelty to these things where they turn into life experiences that may not induce instant gratification, but later on may lead you to having a fulfilling and interesting life.

The third talk was from speaker Michael Norton, entitled "How To Buy Happiness"
http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_norton_how_to_buy_happiness.html

Norton discusses the effects of being pro-social with spending, rather than anti-social (i.e. buying for someone else rather than yourself). Through various experiments, him and his team found that spensing money on others almost always increased levels of happiness more effectively than spending money on yourself. Overall I think he makes a good reminder that giving is always a way to boost happiness, which I agree with. This study makes me nervous though that charity won't be about helping others, and will instead be about helping yourself, but then again, if people are being helped does it matter?


These three talks weren't crazy inspiring to me, but I do have to say that my favorite was Michael Norton's. I agreed the most with his theories. I also like how these three talks tie into each other. After have watched them in a row I've gotten a clearer picture of how I spend my money and what it's doing for my well being as well as the wellbeing of the people around me. I think I'm going to start being more aware of the "stuff" im acquiring and turning that into donations for local school, food banks, and even my own friends and family. I probably won't be ditching all of my belongings like Graham Hill suggested, but I'll definitely be more aware of necessity vs accessorie.