Are our lives diminished by increased amount of choice?

Question

I just watched this talk http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplay...

In which dr. Barry shwartz says our society has reached the point where we have too much choice. Basically, we have so many choices in the market and in other things, such as medical care, we have no choice but to always feel guilty that we could have chosen somthing better and that it makes us afraid to make important choices, such as where to go to college.

My question, do you agree, do you think we have too manychoices in today's modern society?

Answer 1

We may have too many trivial decisions - but who actually believes that the Crest vs. Colgate war matters? -, but, illusion aside, I don't think we have many more big ones. If we do, it's Darwin's play; the weaker will be diminished, the stronger fortified. As times change, so do we. We are a plastic art form. Well, "art" for lack of a better word...

Answer 2

Well I just came back from the gym on a Tuesday afternoon. There were girls in Yoga class, Step class, spinning class. Guys were lifting weights, playing basketball, swimming. And then you go to lunch and people are eating, everything.

We have too much free time in this country. that is the problem. it breads boredom and depression. We have giant cars, and bigger houses. We spend $500 for a purse or a pair of shoes. We drive Hummers, and Escalades. We don't need them. But we've got soooo much here that we don't know what else to do. So we shop, and gamble on sports with money. We eat out at one of the hundreds of food chains. Every friday or saturday millions and millions of people go out to eat. Extra time, extra money.

We use 30% of the Worlds Resources and we're only .5% of the population... It's immpossible for the rest of the world to live like we do. There just isn't enough resources.... We use too much to create the lifestyles we have.

But eventually, the world is going to wake up. They're starting too now. And we'll have to make a choice. Use the Bomb and save our Prada bags, or have a reduction in the quality of life.... Pretty simple....

Answer 3

I agree. The choices we make are always compared to the choices of others. Most people tend to base the validity of their choice based on the results, which normally is ok, in drastic situations can turn harmful or fatal. For example, an important element of socirety to teenager girls is their image of thinness. They have a tendency to criticize others for being slightly over-weight, and will choose to make any decision to stay thin. Because parents and teachers have stressed the right of people to choose, and what they think is right, some children choose to not eat (becoming anorexic) or eating and then purging their bodies (bulimia). Another example is childbirth and becoming pregnant. 50 years ago, before the wide-spread use of birth-control devices, teenagers would consider more carefully their decision to engage in sex. However now there are many possible ways to stop from becoming pregnant, such as condoms, patches, pills, or other devices. THis has caused a lack of worry of reprocussions, which results in more intimacy. This is one of the major factors of why STDs have become more prevalent in the last decade.

Answer 4

An increased number of choices is good and bad.

It's bad because in order to make the best choice, it takes longer to research the options, and time is valuable.

It's good because there is a greater chance that you can choice exactly what you want. Have you ever felt that you needed more choices when buying cloths?

Answer 5

No, not diminished by choice only by wrong choices. Choice is a good thing, but along with it comes responsibility for learning the consequences of whatever choice you eventually make. So we must make the effort to become informed decision makers.

Answer 6

Or.... You can only get so much energy out of gasoline, and theyre at the point where they cant achieve better gas mileage because engines cant get any more efficient without adding in hybrid technologies. They just need to be more inventive in hybrid technologies. Look at it this way, a certain amount of gas needs to burn to make you, and your 2500 pound car move. You cant just make it run on less gas and expect it to be just as powerful. The only thing they can do now is start to make the car's lighter and lighter, but that also causes its own problems. Car companies still make SUV's because there is still a demand for them.

Answer 7

Yes, I agree. We have too many choices in this life. You want to try to elimitate some stress, eliminate some of the choices.

Answer 8

Absolutely not. What is the alternative? No choices and everyone having the same thing and being the same?

Our choices should be as many and as varied as we are. Not everyone is the same, therefore not everyone will choose the same thing!

Dr. Barry Shwartz is an idiot.

Answer 9

Definitely.
Choice is ultimately an illusion anyway.

Answer 10

i believe so- i think we spend so much time worrying over what choices to make- where we can get the best deals and find the best bargains etc, that we miss out on so many other aspects of life.