2014 Starts when 2013 Ends

I've been away for a bit, occupied with work and getting married.  I seem to have done the latter particularly well, as I now find myself with a husband.  MJ and I are enjoying are home together, along with the two kitties.  We consider adding to it; there are some sweet dogs available for adoption at the animal shelter...

For music these days, I largely listen to Pandora or else a local public radio station that plays an "adult album alternative".  Similarly, we don't have cable.  We watch Netflix's streaming options to find a few seasons of interesting TV shows or consume content on the Internet.  Occasionally, network TV is on via antenna - primarily to watch football.  I'm a bit surprised how much we've taken to "on-demand" and "tailored" content, really.  But it makes some sense; we find some new gems we wouldn't have otherwise, but we're able to avoid the media we don't enjoy.  It's also a fairly limited exposure to advertising.

This struck me particularly yesterday as I was cleaning with the radio on.  I was tuned to "Jack FM", which is owned by CBS and licensed and marketed by SparkNet Communications.  It's a major commercial station with a lot of major advertising contracts.  A mix of local and national, probably about 3 minutes of ad time per break.  Possibly more; I didn't actually time it.   But, the focus or theme of the ads stood out to me.  It's about materialism and "self."  Appealing to immediacy and wants.  The stuff that countless outlets assign to this generation.

• "More is better."
• "I deserve it."

McDonald's Dollar Menu and More
(Also see AT&T's "It's Not Complicated" campaign and Dish's "More is Better" for examples.)
There was also an ad telling us that we'd had enough focus on others getting ready for the Holidays and now that they're past we should buy something we really want for ourselves.

On one hand, the premise of the "more is better" advertising movement is that more value is better.  And, as advertisers, their job is to convince you that what they're selling has that value.  But so often, when we talk about "more" we mean more quantity.  How much value is there to more channels if one only watches five of them?  What's the value of more food in a restaurant dish when 1/2 of the "serving" is adequate?  The advertisers work from the assumed agreement that more is better and then explain how their service or product gives you more.  They don't question the assumption.  Simply, is "more" inherently better?

In a sense, whenever we have more of one thing, we have less of something else.  This trade-off isn't always obvious, but it's there.  The question of course becomes one of priorities.  What I want now versus what I want later, perhaps.

But, what really stood out to me was the basis of advertising.  I don't want more; I want to be less materialistic in the new year. I want to be truer to my values and live simply and happily.

And so, I make my list of "mores" for 2014:

• Spend more time outdoors in nature.
• Read more books.
• Be more consistent in my Biblical reading plan.
• Get more sleep.
• Spend more quality time with MJ.
• Exercise more.
• Make more healthy food choices.

The list is notably missing care for others.  This is something of which I want to do more but have not yet made a plan for.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2014 for all, with more blessings!





Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net