We are constantly bombarded with advertisements in our daily lives; According to market research firm Yankelovich, the average person saw up to 5,000 ads per day in 2007, and by the end of 2022, the number has increased to 6000–10,000 per day, nearly doubling that of 2007.

Every advertiser, marketer, and social media influencer is attempting to sell us something; they are all trying to grab our attention and persuade us to buy their products. Social media and the culture of consumerism motivate us to make larger and more expensive purchases.

People believe them when they say it will improve their standard of living, increase their social standing, and make them more deserving of respect, and acceptance in a group. It has disastrous effects on people's self-worth and mental health.

Self-worth is derived internally by respecting ourselves and keeping our promises. Businesses understand how much we care about other people's opinions, our social image, and the need to belong in society, they exploit these insecurities and make us buy things that we don't need.

Many industries will cease to exist once people accept themselves as they are and stop caring what others think of them. People associate their self-worth with the products they own. Owning a million-dollar car doesn't say anything about a person's self-worth.

In most cases, the culture of consumerism persuades people to buy things for status and validation rather than necessity. The purchasing decision has little to do with quality and everything to do with the signal it sends to society and its peers.

A luxury good can go a long way in increasing self-esteem or providing a sense of belonging. A sense of accomplishment is another reason why some people buy luxury goods. The trend of wasteful spending to communicate status is very much alive.

People associate their self-worth with the products they use, which adversely affects their mental health and self-esteem when they no longer possess those items and get the impression that their identity has been robbed. It also puts us in a victimhood mindset.

A person should never identify oneself via their possessions. Anyone can have their self-esteem damaged by criticizing their watch, car, bag, or anything they own. Self-worth should be based on things that cannot be taken away from us.

Social media isn't helping either; in fact, it's magnified our insecurities. People on these platforms persuade us to believe that they are living their best life, a world free of insecurities, luxury vacations, and unending success, all without having to work for it.