A twenty-year-old university student might have provoked her classmates by posting photos of some expensive perfumes from a renowned global brand on a youth-oriented social media site, captioning the images as “a simple gift from my dad.” The girl's father, who works in one of the Gulf countries known as a hub for shopping and global brands in the Arab region, has a habit of compensating for his absence with such lavish gifts.
The striking part of the story is not only the bragging about these products on social media but also the girl's description of these expensive items as “simple,” despite studying at a free public university where most of her friends belong to the working class. What drives this display of wealth and the attempt to present oneself as part of the 1% elite who view such brands as mere trifles?
While the previous story may seem somewhat audacious in its attempt to cross class boundaries and aspire to the upper society, the obsession with belonging to the wealthy class through wearing clothes, perfumes, watches, and handbags bearing global brands raises many questions about the psychological motivations behind this behavior. This phenomenon is not confined to young people with little experience in life. When a famous political writer with thousands of followers posts a picture of himself, commenting that his shoes and bag are from such-and-such a global brand, it undoubtedly warrants investigation into this obsession with global brands. Are there underlying psychological issues, or is it a manifestation of capitulation to the capitalist market culture that glorifies consumption and idolizes brands?
Capitalist Happiness
Some people are drawn to buying branded products because they trust the excellent materials used and the small, comfortable details associated with them. They see it as an investment in a high-quality product, even if it is expensive, and many of these individuals make purchases during sales and discounts rather than at the peak of the shopping season.
However, other wealthy young people, whose families are accustomed to buying global brands at any time, have developed a habit and culture of purchasing whatever they desire, regardless of price or need. This category of young people lacks significant life projects; their only concerns revolve around personal enjoyment and flaunting among peers, intertwined with the fever of shopping and consumption.
A large segment of middle-class youth, in all its degrees, shares with the wealthy youth the absence of major life projects, seeking the pleasure of shopping for global brands. However, they lack the necessary funds, so some spend half their salary or more on shopping. Some children exert significant pressure on parents who cannot afford to shop from these brands. Even young people from poor classes, who do not have major issues occupying their minds, seek out counterfeit brands that are much cheaper but closely resemble the original ones and bear the same logos.
One can argue that the pursuit of happiness is a major driving force in this issue. The shopping experience stimulates the release of dopamine in the brain, leading to feelings of happiness. Some even resort to shopping when they feel sad. According to a study published in the Journal of Psychology and Marketing, shopping induces a euphoria similar to that felt by drug addicts! But like drugs, this happiness is temporary and momentary, losing its effectiveness with repetition. Furthermore, the financial pressures experienced by non-wealthy individuals diminish the joy and happiness that shopping brings.
The pursuit of happiness through buying expensive products is a substitute for the absence of grand ideas that occupy young people's minds. Instead of striving for the liberation of the Ummah from subtle occupation to achieve its true place among nations, which global capitalism fears and seeks to obscure through various forms of temptation, young people remain absorbed in temporary pleasures like shopping for brands.
This pursuit is a manufactured goal. Capitalism has the power to create goals, given that humans cannot live without them. So, a goal is created for them to chase and find enjoyment in achieving some of it. Capitalism has long and sharp tentacles that wrap around young people, as the obsession with brands involves celebrities, fashion houses, and marketing companies that use psychological tools. They even study research conducted on drug addicts to use in fostering addiction to shopping and consumption.
Appreciation and Confidence
Another psychological driver behind young people's obsession and addiction to shopping for branded products is the quest for peer appreciation, as demonstrated by the twenty-year-old student mentioned earlier. The clear truth expressed by young people is their desire for distinction, achieved through flaunting or imitation to gain societal recognition and peer appreciation. Consuming branded products is the shortcut for these young people to gain confidence, which derives from the price of what they wear or use. Thus, their value seems to stem from the price of the item, and the individual's worth is tied to the product's price.
This commodification of individuals is both a cause and an effect. It drives young people to chase brands to have a visible presence in this world that judges people by the value of what they own. It's a result of repeated practices of this consumption pattern and the consequent feelings of confidence and satisfaction, reinforcing neural connections in the brain that make this commodification seem like an existential reality.
Recovery and Liberation
If appearance is the primary identifier of a person's identity before they even speak, it is absurd to say that it is unimportant. However, when appearance becomes the foremost goal that a person pursues, it undermines all noble meanings of life. Buying a product for its quality, within one's financial means, and without extravagance is permissible. But being enslaved by brands run by transnational corporations that control the world through the economic gateway is a spiritual ailment that must be addressed. The path to liberation from this enslavement is awareness of our major causes, foremost among them the Palestinian cause.
This liberation provides young people with vast and profound areas of life they had not realized existed before. It grants them confidence in their capabilities and allows them to see themselves beyond the dwarfing perspective that drives them to seek confidence and appreciation through excessive consumption.
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