Shopping is our modern sport of choice. Browsing till we find something we must have. Ordering or purchasing in-store has benefits from lifting our mood to the sublime satisfaction of owning that ‘something special’. These objects declare our belonging to an external group or class and fill a void by giving a representation of who we are. The consumption of mass-produced products is a part of who we are culturally in the Western world. Owning things conveys we have the means to buy. Plus shopping feels good because we like it, as it gives us purpose.
Shopping is a favoured pastime and could even be our hobby, giving purpose and destination to our daily lives. We shop for happiness to fill our lives with something we desire and it provides us with a distraction from our emotional wellbeing. We can all relate to feeling sad or lonely and buying ourselves something that will cheer us up. It gives our brain a chemical buzz such as dopamine or endorphins that make us feel good. This contributes to the cycle of spending and produces patterns of buying to fill our lives. ‘Shopping malls are cathedrals of consumption!’ wrote Paolo Magaudda in his article ‘History of Consumer Culture’ (2015). We now have the act of shopping right here in our homes. Online shopping has increased consumer markets and now we can do this 24/7 and have it delivered, all with the click of a button!
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To Keep or Not To Keep 