Catching Up With Campus: Money can buy (temporary) happiness

Megan Grantham, Campus Editor

When I switched to a new school in 7th grade, all I wanted was a pair of American Eagle jeans (because everyone had them). Being in 7th grade, I couldn’t exactly drive myself to the mall to buy them, and my mom was not going to buy them for me — they were too expensive. The avenue of secretly purchasing them online was out of the question with it being 2010, and also I did not have a credit card.

   So I waited, and I wanted them more and more. After two long years, when I entered high school, I got a pair (thanks to those helpful back-to-school deals). In the moment of the purchase, I don’t think I could have been happier. Then I went home with them, wore them to school, and that was it. My life didn’t change. Everything was the same; I just had a different pair of pants.

  Of course, after the newness of the jeans wore off, my obsession switched to something else. Waiting to buy something, purchasing it and then moving on to to wanting something else.

   As I got older, making these purchases became easier and easier. Going online and buying something is therapeutic, making a bad day seem much better with the knowledge that a fun new item is headed my way.

  Now, I wouldn’t say that I’m addicted to shopping. I’d consider myself pretty frugal and have at least some self control when it comes to clicking “add to cart,” but I think the effect shopping has on our brains is something to be aware of.

  Shopping triggers dopamine in the brain, a chemical that contributes to  the feeling of pleasure. It spikes when you consider making a purchase or anticipating a reward.

  When we feel we’re getting a deal on something, we get an especially large kick of dopamine. Columbia University professor of neurobiology David Sulzer says, “We’re constantly comparing what we expect with what we actually perceive.”

  Sulzer calls this happy feeling ‘shopper’s high’ and explains that the reaction in the body when we purchase something we want is similar to the rush of drinking or gambling.

  Clearly, the possibility of addiction is evident, but I don’t think our brains are trying to sabotage us by spiking our dopamine levels when we buy something. Part of survival is acquiring possessions, and our brains want to reward us for that.

    I think that being aware of how shopping can impact you is the key,  so as not to go overboard when you’re having a bad day by overspending. I’m all for buying some new nail polish if I’m feeling down, but I probably don’t need to buy AirPods because I did poorly on a test; I just need to learn to cope better with my feelings.

   So, as we enter the season of holiday shopping madness, I encourage you to be more aware of what shopping does to your brain. If you really want something and have the necessary funds, buy it! I hope it brings you lasting satisfaction, rather than just a quick spike of dopamine.

  By the way, I still have those coveted American Eagle jeans from high school — a truly great purchase, if you ask me.