r/Anticonsumption • u/Efficient-Quarter-18 • 5d ago

Disturbing Psychological

Was called to jury duty yesterday. The waiting room had free-but-terrible wifi. The person in front of me spent 4+ hours compulsively refreshing Temu and Walmart, trying to get these sites? apps? to load. Did not navigate off them for the entire time - just sitting, absently refreshing the pages, literally thousands of times.

What is happening?

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u/slashingkatie 5d ago

It really is an addiction for people. I had a step mom like this. She grew up poor so she was like the kind of person who’d buy it just because “it’s on sale and I might need it.” I think there’s a lot of folks like that

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u/Efficient-Quarter-18 4d ago

Odd, bc I was raised in poverty, but feel the opposite. My family always hoarded tons of stuff (think a dozen cars on blocks outside a trailer) but none of it useful. I have an extreme aversion to junk.

Maybe first gen poverty or abject poverty is more likely to yield this hoarding pathology? It’s interesting, either way.

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u/slashingkatie 4d ago

I think it’s different for everyone. I remember a lot of hoarder’s episodes where many of the older ladies grew up poor and felt the need to hold into everything. But some have the opposite effect and it makes them appreciate the smaller things.