It has become a common practice to judge the quality of life based on the things people own. The more they have, or the more money they have, the better their quality of life. That means that even middle-low class people have a poor quality of life, though they have everything they need plus some "material" enjoyments.
People have adopted this idea that in order to be happy they need stuff. Nice clothes, large t.v.s, multiple gaming consoles, smart phones, tablets. Don't get me wrong- it is OK to want and own these things. What I want to know however, is when happiness began to require these things. When did we decide that we needed these objects? Personally, I don't believe we do. We just let the influences of the material world get inside our heads and control our thoughts, impacting the way we regard what's truly important in our lives.
Sadly, this influence can be addicting. You find a need of some nice things to make you happy during a sad period, like the death of a loved one, then begin to rationalize that, since it worked, you keep needing new, nicer things. The new I-Phone comes out, and, all of the sudden, your old one isn't good enough. You get a new outfit, and then need new shoes to match (though the one's in your closet look just fine). If you decide to skip out on the new needed item, you will not feel at all content with what you already have.
Our society, and the world society, for that matter, all support this way of thinking. They make their new products tempting, pushing you into thinking you really want or need it. You become tricked over and over again through advertising schemes and billboards, without realizing that it is the exact thing these companies want. It's all a sick, sick, marketing tool. They are willing to sacrifice your reality for your money in their pockets. If you believe you need something you'll be more apt to buy it.
Hence why this all adds up to the quality of life. If you think government hasn't thought about this while taking their quality of life data gathering and analysis, you're terribly mistaken. The government utilizes these tactics as well, being a form of business in need of money. Money is the driving force of the economy, and without business-marketing tools, we could potentially face a collapse.
It becomes quite obvious when you live a materialistic life. You put more importance on the things you own then, say, your own actual happiness. The world is becoming more materialistic by the day. They care about spending all this money on nice things, not knowing they could learn more from a third world country than their own homes. A materialistic person isn't happy.
If you went to Africa, you would probably witness many things that make your heart cry. So many of the African people have nothing, yet they love each other so much. They take joy in the small meals they eat because it's what they have. They rejoice when they have clothing, because so often they spend time in rags. When they even get a chance to play, to them it's a miracle. We sometimes get so caught up in ourselves we don't enjoy small things. For them, small is all there is. We are too forgetful of the blessings we have, in exchange for the blessings we don't have.
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