The article was written by one of our students:
I am now the proud owner of a red Cuisinart Snow Cone Machine. I did not wake up this morning saying to myself “I really should buy a snow cone machine for our family”, but buy one I did. There must be some sort of class for online shopping addiction. While I know most of what I read regarding addiction is about alcohol, drugs, sex, etc. I would contest that online shopping is a growing addiction for mothers of today. Why you may ask? Here’s my thought for what it’s worth.
Before children, we as women enjoyed going out shopping to find that great top to wear out, or the jeans that actually made our butts look good; or that pair of shoes that perfectly completed an outfit. Once married, home goods got added into that list.
But herein lies the issue, with kids and schedules, lunch making, driving, stress of keeping the home, that leisurely, stress-relieving trip to the mall no longer exists. So I find myself, late night or early morning, before the tumult of the day begins and ends, surfing online doing none other than shopping. It’s “shopping therapy”. I know many of you moms can identify with it. But what I am quickly coming to realize, it’s also an addiction. Especially when we go online to those “discount” sites, where it’s 50% less than what you would normally purchase it for, but the reality is, you wouldn’t be purchasing it in the first place. So, to add fuel to the fire, the allure of saving money gets added to the equation and fuels the addiction even further, giving us the the rationale behind making the purchase in the first place.
So what’s the solution? I think I might start trying to fantasy shop. Guys do it with sports; they can’t actually play the game so they put together their fantasy football team, so why not with shopping? There should be online communities to help with this addiction that has items to purchase, you actually put them in your cart, create the perfect online shopping experience by adding in that they are heavily discounted, and in the mail, you receive a reward letter that you would have saved “x” amount of dollars on your last online fantasy shopping experience.
Online shopping is a growing addiction, I’m convinced, and I have the red Cuisinart Snow Cone Machine to prove it. It will be arriving at my doorstep just in time for summer. I’m sure my husband will love it.