Thanks, Jim!

This week, for those who couldn't attend (or just didn't - shame, shame...), I thought I'd provide a recap of the Affluenza presentation given by Longview counselor Jim McGraw. I went to the session on Thursday and there was a good mix of students and faculty, people who had finished the book and people who were just starting, and - most interesting to me - people who seemed to agree very strongly with the Affluenza authors and people who weren't so sure.

Jim began by offering four "main assertions" that he thinks the authors make in the book:
1) We live in a materialist/consumer culture
2) Aspects of this consumer culture lead to problems (e.g., debt, over-work, stress, mental and physical health issues)
3) Advertising plays a key role in this phenomenon
4) Eschewing affluenza is possible, and it can improve quality of life

After some discussion of these assertions, Jim showed us another slide with "a few Affluenza stats" (regular readers of this blog know how much I love stats!):
- In the U.S., we work more hours each year than any other industrialized country (including Japan)
- The average child in the U.S. gets about 70 toys a year
- From 1997 to 2005, more Americans declared bankruptcy than graduated from college
- By the time we're 18, we've seen about 1 million commercials

I thought some of those stats were pretty startling and there was another round of discussion concerning a few of them. A little later on, Jim showed us this slide, which presented some findings from an author who'd devised both a 'Life Satisfaction Index' and a 'Purchasing Power Index':

The implication is that money doesn't always buy happiness, but without knowing a lot more about this study and exactly what the author was measuring and how, I remain a little skeptical about drawing such a broad conclusion from his results. Everyone in the room did seem to agree when Jim suggested that, even if increased wealth doesn't necessarily lead to increased happiness, extreme poverty can certainly lead to extreme unhappiness!

We also watched a brief segment of the documentary 'Consuming Kids', which is about advertising to children (and is not about how to eat them, as I'd originally feared...), and there was quite a bit of discussion about the issues raised in just the short clip we saw. The full documentary will be shown in the Ed Center on Wednesday, March 24, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 and on Thursday, March 25, from 11:00 to 12:30. Check it out if you can - I'm sure you'll have some reaction to the filmmakers' points-of-view and arguments.

Next came my personal favorite part of the presentation - the 'Have You Been Branded' game. Go to
http://www.sporcle.com/games/corplogos.php and see how many corporate logos you can identify in six minutes. I think everyone at the discussion was surprised - and a little embarrassed - on just how well we did. (I just took it alone and got 31 out of 36. Only 18 out of 36 on Corporate Logos 2, though!).

Next came the Affluenza Self-Examination: True or false?
- I sometimes buy something because it's cool or fashionable, not because I love it or need it.
- I very often feel rushed, with too much to do and not enough time to do it all.
- I don't know what the interest rates are on my credit cards or exactly how much debt I have.
- I spend more time shopping each month than I do being involved in my community.
- I know I have more 'extras' in my life than my parents and grandparents did, but I don't feel as satisfied about my standard of living as I think they were.

Finally, we ended with several slides and discussion about ways the Affluenza authors suggest we fight affluenza, including down-shifting and the Simplicity Movement, "sustainability" as an alternative to Gross National Product, and some facts about Longview's own recycling efforts. All in all, it was quite a bit of thought-provoking information and opinion to squeeze into a one-hour presentation. I'd just like to thank Jim for putting it together and leading us through the discussion! If you ever get a chance, go to one of his other presentations. And just look above this post for other upcoming Affluenza-related events on campus.