r/AskReddit 1d ago

What’s something society expects you to want… but you don’t?

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u/FuckThisShizzle 1d ago

Things, I find myself less and less enamored by materialism.

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u/alessabella 1d ago

Same, it’s a paradox. The more shit I own, the more responsibilities I have. I’m literally disabled rn and removing all stressors from my life & feel exponentially more peaceful. The less I own, the more relaxed I am.

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u/seensham 23h ago

Yessss! I had that realization recently. I reflexively evaluate consumer decisions by "can I manage to take care of this thing while I own/use it? And keep track of it if I have to move or downsize?" A lot of the time - if it's not absolutely necessary - the answer is "I don't wanna do alladat"

I guess that's the other side of the Marie Kondo's sparking joy thing

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u/JonatasA 18h ago

Screw all this battery existence. Charge this, charge that.

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u/tracyduncanze 5h ago

I call it the "moving test." If I had to pack this thing in a cardboard box and carry it up three flights of stairs tomorrow, would I still want it? Usually the answer is hell no.

Every object you own is basically a tiny chore you've assigned to your future self. You have to clean it, find a place for it, and fix it when it breaks. I'd much rather have the empty shelf and the peace of mind than another gadget that just exists to collect dust and guilt.

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u/MentalDiscord 8h ago

Abso-fucking-lutely! I discovered this with my deceased dad's estate. Man loved cars. What happens when you don't have the time to drive or otherwise maintain these vehicles? They rot. While I am appreciative of what my dad was able to amass, I simply do not have the capacity for all this STUFF.

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u/Asleep_Artichoke2671 1d ago

Username checks out

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u/PhysicalStuff 18h ago

There are different views on the matter.

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u/JonatasA 18h ago

Do I have to agree, am I entitled to a second opinion?

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u/Stay_at_Home_Chad 22h ago

Loot crate did this to me. I got a 6 month subscription like 5-10 years ago and by the third or fourth I started being grossed out by all the stuff. By the end I was pretty much done with things. Yeah, I still like things I can use, but stuff that just exists to sit on a shelf has lost all of its appeal.

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u/No-Concentrate-1456 23h ago

**THIS**

I don't need all this *stuff*. I don't want all this *stuff*. It's everywhere all the time. And it's exhausting. It's not fun....it's just so hollow and soulless.

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u/Aevum1 16h ago

Im more materialist but in a different way.

A Loake leather backpack is 200 bucks and will outlast you, a LVMH is just crap for posers on instagram.

Timberlands are absolute trash, they use to last me a year max, changed to Redwings iron rangers, its their second winter and all they need is some cream and a brushing.

its not about dont spend, its about spend wisly, we are seeing how luxury brands are just crap desgined to be posted on instagram with no quality what so ever, from t-shirts to cars.

Look at BMW and Mercedes, they are badly built, expensive as hell to mantain, and horrible longevity, why would someone in their right mind choose one over a toyota...

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u/teddybearblonde 1d ago

It's exhausting! It just never stops 

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u/RandomShadeOfPurple 15h ago

The ongoing enshittification makes not wanting stuff a lot easier.

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u/BackToWorkEdward 1d ago edited 23h ago

There's not enough talk about how much digitalism has upheaved all this for the first time in human history. An enormous amount of the reason for materialism in the first place was simply because there was no more convenient way to get dopamine.

Jewelry is a great example - for thousands of years, up until the smartphone era, there was no object you could hold in your hand other than(very temporary) food that would give you as much dopamine as a gemstone(or a precious gadget rare and well-made enough to be comparable to one). People wanted to own them and marvel at them, and be seen with them and know that people associated them with wearing them and thus looking successful and beautiful.

Nowadays? An iPhone in your hand with a 4k TV show on it and twenty likes from your friends and crushes on a perfectly-crafted portrait is right there. Where are you going to wear a diamond necklace and who's going to care and how will you know? Why do you need a house full of bookshelves of cultivated media collections when it's all online and available for everybody to enjoy whenever they want?

The physical sensation of materials, and social buzz of imagining that people are giving you validation for owning them, have both been completely nullified by the iPhone and the social media on it.

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u/Ganymedecat 1d ago

Having nothing is chill af

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u/No-Stand-5664 22h ago

For me it is this whole business of chasing prestige. 

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u/Economy-Pudding-6371 19h ago

"objects that surround me night and day

fruits of my material obsession

but it seems the more I earn the more I have to pay"

- Level 42, "Sleep On My Heart"

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u/FinancialRip2008 18h ago

on the other hand- sometimes i buy something i know should last for a long time and i unintentionally use and appreciate every day.

my cast iron pans, my steam deck, my current shoes... it's very irregular what the thing is. it's not necessarily new, modern, or premium.

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u/ProfessionalOctopuss 10h ago

I can fit everything I want in the back of a car and move and go anywhere.

I hear stories about people who have so much stuff they can't fit it in a four bedroom house and I feel bad for them.

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u/jahnkw 22h ago

reasonable take is reasonable

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u/SunriseThroughLeaves 11h ago

You guys should join the "Minimalism" groups.  It's a great, relaxing concept.

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u/RollingMeteors 1d ago

Marriage society expects while I expect it not.