Relationships with products.

I have always found it interesting that some people have garages full of stuff they never use. People develop relationships with these products and convince themselves they will wind up using them again in the future. After watching how people interact with the things they purchase I have come to a few conclusions.

First, people tend to believe they are more like their actual self than their ideal self. Most people I studied surrounded themselves with items they thought would impress other more than having any practical use for themselves. Once they created this this ideal self by surrounding themselves with items they were forced to interact with these items. This is where it becomes interesting. Many people start out using the items a lot and very quickly fade to using them rarely or never.  One person described many of their products as “completely unnecessary and over the top but something everyone thinks is awesome”. This person is focused on their looking-glass self. They have created a link between what others think of them and what they think of themselves through the products they consume. In reality, many of these products are overkill or unused.

Second, People have a very hard time letting go of many objects. They have created sentimental value in these products and somehow link the products to their memories. In selling or giving away the products, it is almost as if they are giving the memories up with them. It amazes me how much less stuff people would have in their homes if they would just get rid of the old and unused things they have. They have no use for them but they hold on just in case they need it one day. Many consumers attempt to get away from this habit of hoarding by going through divestment rituals, or taking steps to gradually distance oneself from something in preparation to separate from it. I personally have experienced this in the process of selling things I used to treasure. Recently I prepared to sell my Slalom longboard by gradually convincing myself I no longer had a need for it and could better use the money instead of letting it lose its value sitting on a shelf.

Last, consumers make choices based on prevalent information but could make much better choices if they spent the time to research the options. However, as “Predictably Irrational” by Dan Ariely states, sometimes we waste time debating between two equal alternatives. For me, these are the most difficult choices. Two perfectly even alternatives can seem like a great thing, you have not one option that works but two! This would be the case if I didn't spend hours researching the pros and cons of each alternative and in the process of deciding which to spend my money on end up wasting my time just figuring out how to spend money. That time could have easily been used making more money which in the end may have made the choice easier. Choices are everywhere and the less time we waste on meaningless choices, the better off we will be.

Products play a huge role in our lives. We live with them, around them, and sometimes for them. As we face choices that define who we are we may not realize how much of our lives are defined by our consumption choices. There is so much more to people products the meets the eye. Next time you’re at someone’s house take a look in their room and try to guess why they purchased the things they did. Was it a need, something to impress themselves, something to impress others, or something different altogether?