(online) shopping as distraction/coping - buying stuff just to buy stuff
I have realized over the last few months that my shopping behavior online has taken a concerning turn sometime during the last few years.
I have seen videos talking about this over the years, about how people buy stuff for the sake of buying itself instead of for whatever they order. And I have noticed this in my own behavior to a degree.
As an example earlier today I saw a thumbnail on youtube about the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and immediately wanted to watch the first one again. The only problem is that I do not own those movies yet so I went online, found a bluray box set and put it in my cart(have not ordered yet).
Then I stopped and asked myself, even if it arrived in 1-2 days would I even watch it immediately or just put it to the ever growing bluray collection?
And the answer is: I don´t know.
I have noticed this with different things like some collectible items, I see them online and buy on impulse(or after debating myself for days to buy or not) and when the things arrive I put them somewhere out of the way for the moment and that can turn to days if not weeks until I even get around to opening whatever it was... Back to the blurays, I have a decent collection and enough of those movies I wanted to rewatch for months but end up on youtube instead(connected to my last post...)
I guess the point of this post is for me (and maybe you) to take a look at our own shopping behavior.
Do you buy stuff you actually need?
Things you have wanted/needed for a while and get some use out of(regardless if it is something practical for around the house/work or something for your hobby like games or even collectables you can look at)
Or do you buy stuff you do not need, didn´t even know it existed 10 minutes ago and you throw it out sooner rather than later?
I hope that writing this down will help me get a better handle on my own shopping. A start would be to actually watch the movies I order in the week they arrive, or even better to start watching the movies I already have first...
Another thought that is relevant for me in this regard is the fear of missing out(FOMO), even though movies are not often part of this unless you collect special editions. But FOMO is a topic for another maybe a future post.
Have a great day and I hope this may help you in some way as well.