This year more than ever it seems that the Black Friday buzz significantly detracted from the Thanksgiving holiday. With some stores starting sales as early as 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, an unprecedented number of bargain hunters finished up their turkey meals early to go out and wait in line. Some endured the elements for hours just for the chance of snagging some discounted items.

The massive turnout was due to the many enticing offers made by major retailers. For instance, Best Buy was offering a 40 inch LCD TV that was discounted $240. Additionally, Walmart ran a promotion that guaranteed customers discounts on certain electronic items, as long as they made it through the door by a certain time.

So stores offered deals, and people responded accordingly — a perfect consequence of our free market society, right? It is until you consider the negative effects that extreme consumerism is having on Americans and their families.

First, you have to take a step back and recall the purpose of the holiday season. The holidays are meant to give us a break from the stresses of everyday life, so we can spend quality time with family and loved ones. Obviously, if you are out shopping, you are not spending very much time connecting with those you care about.

Of course, bargain shoppers justify their actions by saying that getting the perfect presents will make their loved ones happier at gift giving time. However, this reasoning ignores the fact that letting retailers dictate your behavior is a dangerous thing.

Businesses are only motivated by their bottom lines. Their wish is for our society to be based solely on consumerism. Recent trends indicate that this is indeed where we are headed. Over the past four years, despite the recession, Black Friday sales increased every year, leaping to $11.4 billion in 2011. This year, the estimated number of store visits increased 3.5 percent to 308 million, bringing in similar revenues.

We see the obvious effects of extreme consumerism in the aftermath of every Black Friday. This year, numerous YouTube videos have surfaced, revealing fights that broke out in large crowds of shoppers. And we can’t forget last year’s infamous incident where a woman pepper sprayed 20 people to give herself an “advantage” at a crate of discounted Xbox game consoles.

While not everyone has resorted to such extreme actions, shifting your focus from ideals to material goods puts your internal spirit at risk. Material goods are quantified by their price. However, human emotions run much deeper than numbers. Spending time with family and friends on the holidays is one of the best ways to rekindle these emotions. Thus, sacrificing your Thanksgiving for a somewhat more affordable Christmas is not a good trade-off.

Now, I understand that giving people that perfect gift can make them happy. However, if you are so financially dependent on a special deal that you have to give up part of your holiday, then that happiness is not worth the cost. The cost is not just your own holiday, but also the bad message that you are passing on to your loved ones that consumerism is a better replacement for genuine affection. When we substitute consumerism for happiness, we become slaves to what we want instead enjoying what we have.

On the flipside, escaping the talons of consumerism empowers us to be sane when everyone else is getting worked up in a frenzy. Instead of sweating under the intense pressure of the holiday shopping season, we can relax under the realization that what really matters cannot be bought in a store.

Being from a family that has never done shopping on Black Friday eve, I have enjoyed the liberation of sitting comfortably during Thanksgiving, while much of the world is out freezing in line or battering people over sale items. To increase that feeling, I hope to do most of my shopping online this year to try and avoid the holiday chaos altogether. I can’t help but feel that my soul will thank me.

Andrew is a sophomore in Engineering. He can be reached at [email protected].