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envy kills

David_Snowball
in Off-Topic
One of my favorite Charlie Munger rants concerns envy:
The idea of caring is that someone is making money faster [than you are] is one of the deadly sins. Envy is a really stupid sin because it’s the only one you could never possibly have any fun at. There’s a lot of pain and no fun. Why would you want to get on that trolley?
Apparently everyone on social media?

Julia Carpenter, writing in the Wall Street Journal (3/4/2024), reports what every blessed researcher knows: "How we measure up against our friends and peers has an outsize effect on our financial perceptions ... especially as people spend more time scrolling social media. These comparisons can make our finances seem inadequate even when things are going fairly well. This effect is playing part in the disconnect leading many consumers to feel dour about the economy" despite the fact that it's doing really well.

A survey by Edelman Financial Engines found "a strong link" between overspending and the time you spend on social media. Scrolling can leave you "overwhelmed with feelings of inadequacy" because the underlying algorithms push posts from people upscale of you (without mentioning it) and everyone on social media posts only the fantasy version of their lives.

Envy is a natural part of the human condition (c.f. "The Ten Commandments" which speaks to the matter 'cause we don't enact rules against behaviors unless they're always widespread and seen as damaging). The ability of otherwise functional people to spend between 2.5 (all adult users) and 4.8 (teen users) hours a day scrolling envy machines, is not.

Comments

  • CrashCrash
    Uncle Charlie was smart. What folks need to do is to replace for themselves that rat-race mentality. Keeping up with the Joneses is so futile. True satisfaction can be had most truly and deeply by actions which benefit other people, NOT primarily by trying to feather one's own nest, making it more and more and more and more "comfortable." Eventually,"comfort" becomes indulgence. Waste. Avarice.

    Envy kills, indeed.
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