During this time of year, most people spend time with their families and visit the people they care about. Ironically, in the midst of the holiday frenzy, many people feel even more lonely than they do at other times of the year. Seeing Facebook posts of all their friends having family dinners can make people feel isolated. For people who are alone during the holidays, these days just serve as reminders of their detachment from their own families. To deal with these negative emotions, different people will try different methods to distract themselves from their problems. Certain people like to be comforted by their close friends and family while others prefer to have space to think and analyze their circumstances on their own. Some people find that going on a shopping spree helps them feel better about their problems and clears their head. Buying new clothing or furniture can help people feel refreshed since it adds new materials to their current possessions. Although retail therapy can help you feel better for a few hours or maybe even a day, eventually, you will need to face the problem that you have been avoiding, and there is a high chance that spending your money on shopping did not help solve the conflict.
More than 51.8 percent of American adults engage in retail therapy to improve their mood. However, there are many problems that are associated with this method of improving your mood. Not only does it cause our happiness to become dependent on money in a world that is already materialistic, but it also makes us lose sight of what is truly important. This Thanksgiving, my family and I went shopping at the mall in the evening, and it seemed like almost everyone we know was at the mall. Instead of spending time with their families on the holiday, most people were out chasing their materialistic desires at low prices. It's ironic how on the same day we give thanks for what we already have, we go spend hours in lines for the things we don't have.
This also keeps retail workers away from their families on Thanksgiving. As I was in line, I overheard a customer asking an employee how long she would be working that night and she said, "oh I'll be here all night!" Having to work on Thanksgiving night takes both an emotional and physical toll on workers. Most workers who are on shift during Thanksgiving are missing some family gathering to be there. Taking a day off is not an option for many of these employees because many of them are college students who need the money in order to pay their bills and tuition. On top of the isolation that comes with being distant from family on the holiday, many employees are subject to verbal abuse from customers. People come to the mall looking for low prices, and when the deals that are offered don't please them, they try to bargain with the workers. However, the workers are not in charge of setting the prices for products, and getting angry at them just causes an unpleasant situation for both parties.
Thanksgiving is meant to be a time for expressing our gratitude towards our friends and family, and the shopping is meant to be on Black Friday. These two days have different purposes and should not be overlapped. Instead of spending Thanksgiving night at the mall, we should keep in mind what this day is really for. Even if making new purchases with good deals gives us temporary pleasure, in the end, it is the people around us that will give us a shoulder to lean on when we need it. It is important to invest more energy on the people that we love; not the possessions that we long for.
