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Is this a serious social issue or just another hippie propaganda?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Affluenza is a portmanteau word formed by the contraction of affluence and influenza. Sources define this term as follows:

affluenza, n. a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more. (DeGraff, 2002)

affluenza, n. 1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses. 2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by dogged pursuit of the American Dream. 3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth. (PBS)

I guess the term is for the people who spend every penny they earn. I'm talking about the people who play it off as being "rich". The truth is, they are sooo tight money wise, that a flat tire would set them back a month, so they need to withdraw from the country club that month to pay for it. My cousin's husband is a fairly popular psychiatrist (for mostly children), I've learned this from him. He says that these people need psychiatric help.

well, those ppl certainly have affluenza. no question about that.

but what about society as a whole? i mean, i look at the kids at my HS and all the big houses in the rich neighborhoods, it certainly seems to me that in general people are more materialistic.

of course, there is nothing wrong with wanting to be richer or have that newest gadget, but when is it excess?

nist7 wrote: of course, there is nothing wrong with wanting to be richer or have that newest gadget, but when is it excess?

I think it is excess when it turns into an obsession and basically become a work-a-holic.

that would qualify as "slang."