Materialism in the U.S.

Materialism in the U.S. The Stats

Persuasion: The Unit • Why? • Shift Happens video

Shift Happens Discussion • What are your initial reactions to what you saw in the presentation? • What does this mean for our world? • What skills do you as students need to survive and thrive in this new era? • What implications does this have for our current way of doing things? • Do we need to change? If so, how? • How do we get from here to there? • What challenges must we overcome as we move forward? • Are you scared or excited?  • Although this presentation was created specifically to teachers, how is it relevant to you? How could the presentation be altered to make it specifically for students?

The 50s vs. Today • In 1958, only 4 percent of American homes had dishwashers. • Now more than half do. • Less than 1 percent had color televisions. • There are nearly 115 million households in the US with at least one TV, and the average American watches that TV about 31.5 hours each week. Of these households, about 30% of them actually have four or more televisions. • Today, many new homes have three-car garages and are nearly 900 square feet (the same as an entire house in the 1950s). • Americans fly 25 times as many passenger miles as they did in the 1950s.

The 50s vs. Today Although Americans had fewer material goods, the number of Americans who say they are very happy peaked back in 1957. Seventy percent of Americans visit malls each week, more than attend churches or synagogues. On average, Americans shop six hours a week and spend only 40 minutes playing with their children.

American Media Usage Source There are 223 million cell phone users over the age of 13 There are about 195 million active internet users, and the time spent on social networking sites has increased 277% since last year. Nearly 60% of adults in the US have two or more computers. 73% of households have a gaming device, with XBox, Playstation 2 and Nintendo Wii respectively making up the top three gaming consoles owned.

Teens and Cell Phones 57% agree or somewhat agree that the cell phone has improved their quality of life. Overall a teenagers cell phone ranked 2nd only to clothing, in determining their social status. 42% of teenagers said they could text message blindfolded! The younger the teen, the more likely they are to choose text messaging over talking on the phone to someone. Females are much more likely to text messaging than males, and find the ability to text message to be more significant in their lives than males.

www.money-zine.com • Amount of consumer debt in the U.S.: $2.6 trillion dollars • That’s $8,500 for every man, woman, and child! • This does NOT include real estate (homes) • 37% of this is credit card debt (or similar) • 63% is from other types of loans: • Car loans • Student loans • RV • Boat • Vacations

www.money-zine.com Americans spend about 18% of their paycheck just to own their homes and cars Renters spend 25% of their paycheck The average household in 2008 had nearly $8700 in credit card debt. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/health/08iht-snmat.html

Discussion 1. When do you have money to spend? How do you earn the money you spend? 2. Do you prefer to spend your money right away? 3. What kinds of things would you save for? 4. Do you buy things only when you need them? 5. How do you differentiate between what you "want" and what you "need?" 6. Do you shop when you have to, or do you shop for other reasons? 7. Do you have time to yourself? How do you spend it? 8. How do you get to the places you want to go? How would you get there if you could?

Persuasion: The Unit • What? • Materialism • Analyze the influence of media and advertising • Argument, persuasion, propaganda – what’s the difference? • Break down and analyze arguments • Logical fallacies in arguments

Materialism in the U.S.