Over-consumption is driven by a desire to look and act in accordance with social norms. Those who opt for a simpler, less materialistic lifestyle may be branded as hippies or near-outcasts. Shopping in malls or online is easy and has reached hobby status for some Americans. For instance, teenagers in American suburbs often spend their weekends in the mall, and hordes of people flock to stores during clearance sales. While over-consumption is in large part caused by advertising and a "keeping up with the Joneses" mentality, increased prosperity in our society has also led to a wave of compulsive spending and over-consumption. Over-consumption is a result of a selfish, me-driven mentality on which American culture was founded. However, selfishness is also a result of over-consumption. The causes and consequences of rampant consumerism are similar: emotional, psychological, and spiritual malaise.

Over-consumption is a form of addiction and it is, therefore, akin to the over-consumption of food and drugs. In fact, the term "consumption" refers both to consumer spending and to eating, and one of the most predominant forms of over-consumption happens to be overeating. As a result, over-consumption causes health problems like obesity, diabetes, and some forms of cancer. Psychological results of over-consumption are similar to the psychological consequences of addictions: stress, anxiety, emotional unrest and existential distress. A loss of meaning fuels addictions of all sorts, including an addiction to spending. Over-consumption also creates a vicious cycle, as purchasing material goods beyond one's means in no way alleviates emotional pain. Trying to fill an existential hole with consumerism is like filling it with drugs or alcohol. Over-consumption can cause further stress and psychological pain when a person realizes that his...

When personal debt and health problems are added to the mixture, over-consumption can make a person's life miserable.
Macrocosmic results of over-consumption include environmental degradation and the denigration of family and community life. Over-consumption creates excessive waste, as people buy literally tons of products they don't use and subsequently throw away. Over-consumption therefore causes a wasteful culture. Moreover, American culture has become defined by materialism, symbolized by corporations the likes of McDonald's and Coke-a-Cola, rather than by artistic or spiritual symbols. In addition to contributing to enormous and insurmountable personal debt, over-consumption causes national debts due to the requirements of domestic industries to meet consumer demands. Over-consumption can also exacerbate already existing income disparities, as creating more goods requires hiring more cheap labor.

Consumerism is a way of life in the United States. The economy depends on consumer spending and in fact, moderate amounts of spending create a healthy, productive workforce. However, over-consumption is an addiction like any other. Stimulated by advertising, over-consumption reflects underlying social values in American culture such as the desire to conform and "keep up with the Joneses." Keeping up with the Joneses demands that people purchase goods they do not need and in some cases don't even want. Credit and financing plans have made over-consumption tantalizingly easy, and over-consumption has inched its way deep into the American psyche, characterizing our culture. Over-consumption is caused by existential angst: a sense of longing and discontent. However, over-consumption also creates increased social, psychological, and spiritual anxiety.