STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – As online shopping continues to be a trend, an addiction is forming and afflicting countless people.
Behind the phenomenon of shopping addiction, there is a trigger invented by psychologists.
David Wimer is a psychology professor at Penn State University, and he said, “It is hard to escape now, and it is ubiquitous. The triggers are more prevalent and more pervasive.”
When shopping addiction was noticed in the society, Amy Clark from CBS Evening News defined it as a serious problem because some people could not control themselves from spending money.
According to Gagner from Clark’s news reporting, “To me I guess it was like taking a drink, it just calmed me down, it soothed me and I felt ok.”
Clark reported that Gagner’s shopping addiction affected her life with her husband, “We have emptied out IRAs, stock options, 401ks, all gone, due to my shopping.”
Wimer provided his perspectives on shopping addiction from psychological field.
“All addictions have things in common. You can be addicted by almost everything,” Wimer said, “Shopping addiction is a behavioral addiction, and it is not a substance addiction. This is no like physical withdrawal, but you can have psychological withdrawal.”
Online shopping has been a trend not only for younger generations, but also for all generations.
Yutong Wang, a junior at Penn State University who loves cosmetics, said, “I have some of my favorite shopping websites saved as bookmarks on my browser, so I can easily access to them. Whenever I am free or bored, I like to check things out, so maybe several times a day.”
Chunling Cai, a mother and housewife who has adapted the approach of online shopping, said, “I would like to look through applications on my phone twice or three times a day, but it is hard to say if I will buy something or not. Basically, it depends on my need, and when I really need something, I will not hesitate.”
Wang and Cai talked about their feelings when they bought new stuff, and they had similar ideas.
“I found that shopping actually made me feel better. I like beauty products, and I believe they can make life so much better. Sometimes when I am depressed, buying new stuff can cheer me up. Sometimes when I have a great time, I would want to buy something to celebrate,” Wang said. “Shopping is such a satisfaction that is really hard to describe. From the moment you place the order, the excitement has been building and growing to the moment you hold the products in your hands. Such a pleasure.”
Cai said, “I would be really excited if I buy something I love because I actually get it. Most of times, I would not regret with my purchasing. Even though I found something that didn’t fit for me, I could return them because that was online shopping.”
Wimer explained that shopping addiction is not going to harm people physically, but it will harm people psychologically and financially.
“When it comes to the mental health world, there are different domains,” Wimer said. “There is symptomology domain, and there is life function domain. Shopping addiction would probably address in life function domain more because you can run up your credit card, and you could fall bankruptcy. There could be those issues.”
Yijun Zhai, a sophomore at Penn State University, said about his experience with shopping addiction and his behavioral changes.
“I think it cost too much money, and some things were useless,” Zhai said, “I used to browse online stores twice a week and actually bought something, but now I try to avoid to go to shopping websites and delete accounts of online sellers on some social medias. Now, I will probably look through online stores once per month.”
Regarding to financial situation, Cai shared her opinions that she definitely would not put herself in such situation with debt.
She said, “No. Absolutely not. It relates to my credibility with the bank, and I will not put my credibility in risk. When I buy something, I can afford them for sure.”
Commenting on the opinion about using shopping as a way to reduce stress, Wimer gave his thoughts.
“It is basically like a coping behavior,” Wimer said. “They could use it as a way to cope, so if I was treating somebody with shopping addiction, I would say how could you meet this need, whatever it is in a healthier way. Maybe you can meet this need in another way through exercising or something. We come up with alternative coping strategy.”
Wimer provided an example, and he used cigarettes to compare with shopping addiction to show the coping behavior.
“It is more likely engaging behavior when they stress. That is the case with almost any addictions,” Wimer said. “If you are more stressed, you use the cope stress like cigarettes. People smoke cigarettes to cope with stress. If you are more stressed, you are going to smoke more cigarettes, and same thing with shopping.”
When Wimer explained shopping addiction from a psychological perspective, Wang and Cai had different ideas about their shopping habits.
“I wouldn’t say it is an addiction,” Wang said. “But I know I bought a lot more than others, and I know I bought way more than I ever needed. However, I would think about this as my hobby.”
Cai said, “Yes, I think I have shopping addiction. I am always curious about new products that my favorite brands come up, so I will look through them twice or three times a day. On the other hand, I will look through what I like but I have not bought yet. I will look at them every day, but I make decisions based on my feelings and needs.”
Explaining by Wimer, promotions and coupons such as those in Black Fridays and Cyber Mondays could be considered as triggers of shopping addiction.
“With any addiction, there are triggers. That is a trigger for shopping addiction. Coupons, by the way, were invented by psychologists.” Wimer said.
Back to the trend of online shopping, Wang and Cai shared their thoughts regarding to their shopping experience with technology and internet.
Wang said, “Well, online shopping is so convenient today, and the return policy is usually great. I definitely think the convenience makes me purchase more. Nowadays, the beauty website like Sephora even have the technology that you can upload your pictures and see how the products look like on your face, which is so cool.”
“Today, a lot of people like online shopping because it is so convenient that you do not need to go out but get what you want from delivery,” Cai said. “I believe the internet has become a part of our lives, and as a trend, more and more people will adapt online shopping.”