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QWERKey-UK t1_j1xknla wrote

Reply to comment by tytbalt in I just received the last deskmats for this year. Happy holidays to all of you. by cheswickFS

So? You're judging people, and making assumptions about them when it's none of your business.

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tytbalt t1_j1xsc89 wrote

I'm not the commenter you replied to, but I do have experience with shopping addiction.

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QWERKey-UK t1_j1xtgok wrote

You seemed to be saying that FOMO is relevant when judging whether someone bases happiness on buying things. Not necessarily so. Many people who collect things feel it. It doesn't mean anything. I once spent way too much money on a set of vintage skateboard trucks, and felt a need to collect at least one set of every Kryptonic skateboard wheel ever made. They have no bearing on my overall happiness, but I just had to have them. Now I have them, I know I am preserving a little bit of history, and I must admit to just getting them out once in a while, and just looking at them. Months can go by without giving them a single thought... but at the time, FOMO was a massive thing while I was on the look out for them.

Many psychologists equate collecting to the hunting instinct that is latent in all of us, and exercising it can be just as healthy as it can be unhealthy.

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tytbalt t1_j1ydbnh wrote

>Many psychologists equate collecting to the hunting instinct that is latent in all of us

Lol, save the evolutionary psych nonsense. Fomo on rare occasions isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if it becomes the driving force in purchasing things (like every mat that is a limited release), then you're no longer buying things for the pleasure of owning them, but to avoid the anxiety of not buying them. That's where people get into trouble. Negative reinforcement can be very effective at continuing a behavior like shopping. Speaking from experience, I look at OP and worry.

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QWERKey-UK t1_j1ym6hd wrote

>Lol, save the evolutionary psych nonsense.

(shrug) If that's what you think it is.

Anything can form addictive behaviours, even things that for most people would seem quite innocuous. It's not the activity itself that is dangerous, but the underlying condition that leads to that behaviour. Basically, someone with a proclivity for addictive behaviour will usually find something to feed that addiction. Millions of people all over the world collect things avidly, feel FOMO when they see things, and do not suffer any psychological harm from doing so. I appreciate that your perspective has been coloured by your own personal experience, but I really don't think the OP has a problem. He sounds quite sanguine about the whole thing, and from what he says, seems to have a disposable income to support his collection, so I would not worry unduly.

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