People want to be happy. Today's media has emphasized materialistic conceptions of happiness. They tell consumers that the more expensive items they own, the happier and more successful their lives will be. One of the ways the media instills this value is through advertising. Advertising companies seek to exploit people's desire for happiness by tricking them into thinking that they need the product being advertised to be happy. Another way the media reinforces materialism is by turning children into a commodity. This can have negative effects on children and teach them that it is more important to pursue material possessions rather than spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values. Research has shown that this view can have serious negative consequences for mental and physical health. The pursuit of wealth and possessions as a person's primary goal is mentally and physically unhealthy and will not lead to happiness and fulfillment in life. People want to be happy. The late media philosopher Marshall McLuhan once said, “the continuing pressure is to create more and more advertisements that reflect the motivations and desires of the audience” (quoted in Fowles). Advertisers target this desire by making consumers believe that only if they own this new car, this new item of clothing or this new product will they be truly happy. It is this continuous pressure from advertisers that drives our consumer economy. In the article “The High Price of Materialism,” author Tim Kasser posits that the more a person values ​​materialism in their life, the more unhappy they will be. (Don't forget to correct/redo this paragraph) Advertising companies are manipulating consumers today. (Add a transition to the sentence). It...... middle of paper...... the more distressed they are. These negative feelings also manifest through incidents of depression and unwanted physical symptoms. These materialistic people were more likely to use alcohol, drugs and tobacco. There is a quote from Andrew Carnegie at the beginning of Kasser's article. Carnegie states: "To continue much longer, overwhelmed by the cares of business and with most of my thoughts entirely turned upon how to make money in the shortest possible time, must degrade me beyond all hope of recovery permanent” (quoted in Kasser). Carnegie was an industrialist who accumulated great wealth early in his life and spent his later years as a philanthropist sharing it. I think he realized at some point in his life that money should bring him happiness and decided to pursue different values. I think this is a great example of the fact that materialism does not guarantee happiness..