Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Need help with Mac buying addiction.

I

iSlave

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 19, 2007
288
56
Okay, if anyone has any advice on this problem, or suffers from similar sympoms, I'd greatly appreciate any advice on a cure....

It goes like this..

You buy a Mac. usually an iMac or a Macbook Pro. Everything is fine. Your happy. A few months down the line, you start getting the itch to trade up to something else, usually the reverse of what you've just got (i.e. desktop > laptop, laptop > desktop). No matter what you do, eventually you will succumb and make the switch...and then a few months later the whole sorry process starts happening again.

Somebody please tell me what's wrong with me! (politely please). :apple:
 
You are a victim of today's consumerist society and Apple's very svelte looking products.

I don't blame you. Unless you have the money to keep this sorta thing up :D Then you need to send me over a Mac Pro or something.
 
If I had the sort of money to afford a Mac Pro, this could get a lot worse!! :p

Any cures that you know of? So far I've tried slapping myself in the nether regions with a slipper whenever the thought enters my head. So far, all that's given me is an empty wallet and sore balls.
 
I've not found a cure for the bug unfortunately. Let me know if you find one though as I have owned 3 of the 4 non-unibody MacBook Pros... (I had to stop buying MacBook Pros because I need my editing laptop to have a matte screen and want the portability of the 15".) (So I guess if Apple made all of their computers and displays have glossy screens, then it would make me stop... Oh wait, they did do that... Maybe that's why I haven't upgraded in a while.)
 
At the risk of pontificating, here are my 5 cents:

Today's Western society does not adequately support the development of things that are intrinsically fulfilling; solid relationships with friends and family, gentle reflection and self-discovery, giving to others, and growth. Many people therefore feel a low level chronic sense of anxiety or inadequacy. We often do not feel 'known' to ourselves or to others.

At the same time, consumerism gives the appearance that everyone else is perpetually happy. It promises us the means to achieve that same happiness by buying their products or services. Buying something these days rarely means enjoying your own experience. Instead it means being handled to have the experience a marketer intends everyone to have. Apple gloriously provides An Unpacking Experience. Movie theaters bombard you from entry to exit with The Next Packaged Experience (Movie X with Food Combo Y).

While contemplating said purpose, we have a temporary sense of control. That's why some people obsess for hours and pour over small details. When we purchase the desired object, we may feel a temporary sense of completeness or joy. Some people imagine that everyone is looking at them as they pull out the laptop for the first time. Some people admire the perfection of the objection as a narcissist would admire their own reflection. There is a cost, however. People can become upset when the desired object does not produce a permanent sense of completeness. Some people obsess about keeping their possessions perfect. They polish and protect. They fret over every little scratch. They protect their things as they would protect their own self-esteem. They fret when the next product cycle comes and they don't own the latest and greatest.

Owning something does not provide true happiness but our experiences reinforce over and over again that they MIGHT. Perhaps the next car. Perhaps the bigger house. If you're anything like me, looking back, believing that owning something would make me happy has only in the long term made me feel less adequate.

Take a deep breath. Go for a walk. Laugh. Turn off the TV. Breathe. Give something away. Really listen to a friend. Nurture the things that really make people happy and owning things won't mean so much.

Best of luck!

P.S. Does anyone know when the Mac Tablet is coming out?? Just kidding! Kind of.

Michael
 
Psychmike said:
At the risk of pontificating, here are my 5 cents:

Today's Western society does not adequately support the development of things that are intrinsically fulfilling; solid relationships with friends and family, gentle reflection and self-discovery, giving to others, and growth. Many people therefore feel a low level chronic sense of anxiety or inadequacy. We often do not feel 'known' to ourselves or to others.

At the same time, consumerism gives the appearance that everyone else is perpetually happy. It promises us the means to achieve that same happiness by buying their products or services. Buying something these days rarely means enjoying your own experience. Instead it means being handled to have the experience a marketer intends everyone to have. Apple gloriously provides An Unpacking Experience. Movie theaters bombard you from entry to exit with The Next Packaged Experience (Movie X with Food Combo Y).

While contemplating said purpose, we have a temporary sense of control. That's why some people obsess for hours and pour over small details. When we purchase the desired object, we may feel a temporary sense of completeness or joy. Some people imagine that everyone is looking at them as they pull out the laptop for the first time. Some people admire the perfection of the objection as a narcissist would admire their own reflection. There is a cost, however. People can become upset when the desired object does not produce a permanent sense of completeness. Some people obsess about keeping their possessions perfect. They polish and protect. They fret over every little scratch. They protect their things as they would protect their own self-esteem. They fret when the next product cycle comes and they don't own the latest and greatest.

Owning something does not provide true happiness but our experiences reinforce over and over again that they MIGHT. Perhaps the next car. Perhaps the bigger house. If you're anything like me, looking back, believing that owning something would make me happy has only in the long term made me feel less adequate.

Take a deep breath. Go for a walk. Laugh. Turn off the TV. Breathe. Give something away. Really listen to a friend. Nurture the things that really make people happy and owning things won't mean so much.

Best of luck!

P.S. Does anyone know when the Mac Tablet is coming out?? Just kidding! Kind of.

Michael
Click to expand...


Without a doubt, the singularly most helpful and complete description of my issue. I feel better already!!

Thanks Michael!!
 
This sounds like a good description iAD (i-Acquisition Syndrome) - must have anything that starts with a lower case 'i' ;)

I have a similar problem (NAS) Nikon Acquisition Syndrome)
 
Great post Michael.

What I found very ironic to all of this was the following comment by the Steveness himself-

"This stuff doesn't change the world. It really doesn't ... Technologies can make it easier, can let us touch people we might not otherwise. But it's a disservice to constantly put things in a radical new light - that it's going to change everything."
Click to expand...
 
well i clearly have a similar issue. i've kinda gotten over it lately, but i am currently looking to buy yet another mac. it's been over 2.5 years since i last bought one, and with my new job, i feel like i need to reward myself. i hope i'm not starting the cycle over again
 
Consumerism has enslaved you through your own shallow materialistic desires. The only solution is to discard all your worldly possessions, rid yourself of this evil, give that MBP to me, and head for the mountains. :D
 
Psychmike said:
At the risk of pontificating, here are my 5 cents:

Today's Western society does not adequately support the development of things that are intrinsically fulfilling; solid relationships with friends and family, gentle reflection and self-discovery, giving to others, and growth. Many people therefore feel a low level chronic sense of anxiety or inadequacy. We often do not feel 'known' to ourselves or to others.

At the same time, consumerism gives the appearance that everyone else is perpetually happy. It promises us the means to achieve that same happiness by buying their products or services. Buying something these days rarely means enjoying your own experience. Instead it means being handled to have the experience a marketer intends everyone to have. Apple gloriously provides An Unpacking Experience. Movie theaters bombard you from entry to exit with The Next Packaged Experience (Movie X with Food Combo Y).

While contemplating said purpose, we have a temporary sense of control. That's why some people obsess for hours and pour over small details. When we purchase the desired object, we may feel a temporary sense of completeness or joy. Some people imagine that everyone is looking at them as they pull out the laptop for the first time. Some people admire the perfection of the objection as a narcissist would admire their own reflection. There is a cost, however. People can become upset when the desired object does not produce a permanent sense of completeness. Some people obsess about keeping their possessions perfect. They polish and protect. They fret over every little scratch. They protect their things as they would protect their own self-esteem. They fret when the next product cycle comes and they don't own the latest and greatest.

Owning something does not provide true happiness but our experiences reinforce over and over again that they MIGHT. Perhaps the next car. Perhaps the bigger house. If you're anything like me, looking back, believing that owning something would make me happy has only in the long term made me feel less adequate.

Take a deep breath. Go for a walk. Laugh. Turn off the TV. Breathe. Give something away. Really listen to a friend. Nurture the things that really make people happy and owning things won't mean so much.

Best of luck!

P.S. Does anyone know when the Mac Tablet is coming out?? Just kidding! Kind of.

Michael
Click to expand...

Thank you Michael, your insightfulness on the situation has changed my life for the better.

:) Great post
 
I'm going to print Michael's reply, and keep it on me whenever that buying urge hits me.
 
Get something else to revolve your life around instead of computers. Get into guitar playing or video games or something. Then you stop caring about the computer specs and just care if it is working or not.
 
GimmeSlack12 said:
Get something else to revolve your life around instead of computers. Get into guitar playing or video games or something. Then you stop caring about the computer specs and just care if it is working or not.
Click to expand...

...says the guy with three computers and two ipods ;)

Just kidding of course.
 
anubis said:
I also have a problem similar to the OP's: Canon L-disease ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah, there is definitely something about photography equipment that grabs people with a bent towards art and technology. So many people are forever comparing resolution, contrast, sharpness, etc., etc., etc. Something similar seems to happen with audio buffs too.

But if you look at much of the really good old photography, the technical aspects often SUCKED. The subjects weren't always in focus, contrast was so-so, and it isn't hard to find the odd hair or dust particle.

Perhaps us techies have the belief that the right equipment will provide the right experience.
 
Well, I admire the poetic words that were posted above me, but they don't provide me with sustenance. TO me, they feel like have a poster of the steps to recovery and simply looking at them hoping to recover.

My down solution to spending is to have two accounts, a checking and a savings. Every paycheck, I move ~$250 into that account, or more based upon if I made more that cycle.

All in all, I made the mentality that the money in that account essentially disappears once I move it in there.

And Presto change-o, the money that I hold in my checking becomes my "funds". It works for me, though I don't much suffer from consumerism.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back