reconnecting with nature: using wilderness experience programs to address affluenza in america

RECONNECTING WITH NATURE 1

Reconnecting with Nature:

Using Wilderness Experience Programs to Address Affluenza in America

Jennifer Kiesewetter

Cal Poly, RPTA 313


Reconnecting with Nature:

Using Wilderness Experience Programs to Address Affluenza in America Consumerism: it’s the hamster wheel America’s trapped on, and it moves so fast that

millions of us have tripped and fallen but can’t get off. Instead, we just keep spinning, and we

can’t seem to get our footing back again. Affluenza is an epidemic that’s attacked American

society, largely during the past fifty years. The PBS Special (1997), Affluenza, describes it as

“an unhappy condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of

more.”

As our desire to consume increases, our society, environment, and economy suffer. We

feel the presence of affluenza every day through symptoms of stress, unhappiness, and

exhaustion, but we suffer in silence because of the patterns to which we’ve become accustomed.

Commercials bombard us, and in Affluenza, Mazur – co-author of Marketing Madness – says that

advertising makes us feel as if we can meet nonmaterial needs with material goods.

Though the effects of consumerism are felt throughout the nation, there is something we

can do to stop the harmful trend. The field of recreation, parks, and tourism can use wilderness

experience programs to counteract the social, economic, and environmental symptoms of

affluenza. By implementing such programs, we can help to create a society in which Americans

don’t rely on consumption for fulfillment.

Branding the Future

Advertising’s psychological attack begins during childhood. Children are the fastest

growing market segment, and marketers are willing to spend millions to brand as many as

possible. As one of the last advertising frontiers, corporations raced to make their mark on

schools. Whether through product placement in books or previews before educational videos,


marketing became common in student life. American youth are taught to be materialistic, and

they seek self-esteem through products and services while failing to build their own identity

(PBS, 1997).

The Pros and Cons of Innovation

Mass marketing stems from patterns of innovation and development. New products enter

the market daily, a seemingly positive sign of a healthy economy. And affluenza does in fact

produce some benefit for American society. Consumerism keeps factories open and products

flowing through the market, which in turn keeps people employed.

However, the means by which goods are produced and marketed have made for a

wasteful, greedy society. As discussed in The Story of Stuff, two ideas – planned and perceived

obsolescence – are used against consumers to accelerate affluenza’s attack. Born from corporate

and consumer greed, they make Americans need and want to replace what they buy on a regular

basis. Due to the value society puts on consumption, the documentary states that ninety-nine

percent of our purchases go in the trash after only six months. However, the media never reveals

the processes before and after consumption that lead to resource depletion, social decline, and

toxic waste, so consumers just keep on consuming (Fox & Priggen, 2007).

Impulse Buying: The Way Americans Shop

Today, this consumption is largely due to impulse buying. In Affluenza (1997),

psychologist Paul Watchel says that almost our whole idea of happiness depends on comparison.

We make purchase decisions as we shop, based on the ideals drilled into our heads by the

advertisements we were exposed to that day. Linder (1970), author of The Harried Leisure Class

wrote, “It appears to be old-fashioned to make lists of intended purchases. People shop as they


wander up and down the aisles of the self-service store. They use the store as a giant catalog

which shows them what is available” (p. 68).

Impulse buying is enabled by credit cards. This economic structure provides American

consumers with “instant money” and purchasing power. What so many fail to realize, though, is

that monthly payments are real, and Affluenza indicates this leads to the over one trillion dollars

of credit card debt in America. The issue is worsened because less than one third of credit card

holders pay off their balances (PBS, 1997).

A Brief History of Consumerism in America

Put in black and white, the side effects of affluenza beg for an immediate decline in

consumerism. However, the way America’s consumer society has developed over the years

makes solving the problem a difficult task. In Ackerman’s (1997) overview essay published in

The Consumer Society, he investigated when and why consumerism began. It started with the

Industrial Revolution, which gave way to mass production and consumption. People could

purchase goods that “helped to create a common aesthetic and culture” (p. 113). The American

economy expanded, businesses grew in size and power, and from this growth emerged “new

advertising strategies” (p. 115) and a lifestyle based on consumption.

To cater to this new lifestyle, the modern department store was born. Shopping centers

were carefully designed to create a pleasant environment for shoppers to linger. Stores became

an exciting public space. Consumption was now culture, and advertising heightened to meet

growing consumer demands. As cited in The Consumer Society, Lears explained that with the

twentieth century came a shift in American culture, from “the Protestant ethic of salvation

through hard work and self-restraint to a ‘therapeutic ethos’ in which self-realization became the

goal” (p. 116). At this point, American consumers truly began identifying themselves and


establishing each other’s value by what they consumed (Goodwin, Ackerman, & Kiron, 1997).

Until the 1900’s, the term “consumer” had a negative connotation associated with waste and

exhaustion. Now, it signified status and self-worth (PBS, 1997), a dangerous connection because

of the symptoms associated with affluenza.

The Symptoms and Effects of Affluenza

Regardless of the dangers, materialism is addicting. In an essay from The Consumer

Society, Kassiola (1990) wrote that “the status-seeking consumer, like the addict, requires bigger

and bigger doses to produce the same effect” (p. 160). As we are sucked into the epidemic, we

require more and more to conquer our anxiety about falling behind. Even the most wealthy and

successful feel the need for more to avoid losing status and to feel valued and worthy (Goodwin

et al., 1997). All our efforts become invested in building social capital that relies on the worth of

material goods rather than meaningful relationships, leading to a suffering social system.

With all our time and energy dedicated to consumption and maintaining social status, we

forget about our friends, families, and communities. The PBS (1997) documentary, Affluenza,

states that over the past twenty years, civic involvement has declined. The gap between rich and

poor has become increasingly wide. The poor see affluenza as an equity issue. They feel

deprived and resource-less to break out of poverty, while the rich see affluenza as a means to

maintain image and status (PBS, 1997). Affluenza divides our country, and communities

everywhere feel the sting.

Individuals and families suffer as well. Products are status symbols, and American

society is highly judgmental. We expect “the world” and cannot purchase enough to satisfy that

desire. This leaves a feeling of emptiness, and stress results from working overtime to earn more

and buy more. With an excess of goods in the home, we neglect relationships, and while


families may be together physically, there’s a huge emotional disconnect when everyone is

plugged in somewhere else (PBS, 1997). Lane (1994) writes that a lack of social support and

relationships is one of the major factors of depression, a rise in which has been seen more in

industrialized than in developing countries. This strongly suggests that consumption and

affluence is related to declining societies and rising unhappiness (Goodwin et al., 1997, p. 102).

Apart from our own society, we often forget about the natural environment that suffers,

too. Current patterns of consumption drain our environment and resources and are leading to

global warming, pollution, and decreased biodiversity (PBS, 1997). Durning (1992) says that the

rate of resource consumption in America exceeds that of developing countries, although we have

a smaller population. And, because we outsource so much work, we increase the environmental

cost of consumer goods by having to import them (Goodwin et al., 1997, p. 295). The U.S. uses

resources faster than the environment can replenish them, and we take not only from our own

soil, but from others’ as well; our footprint is huge. The Story of Stuff states that Americans

produce 4.5 pounds of trash per person every day, and this certainly doesn’t disappear (Fox &

Priggen, 2007).

“The Simple Life:” An Alternative to Affluenza

Modern America is built upon materialism and over-production, but that can change.

People who are against a competitive, stressful lifestyle preach the idea of adopting what Segal

(1994) calls a “simpler, less harried form of life” (Goodwin et al., 1997, p. 346). It involves

several ideas:

• the economy’s role is to satisfy basic needs for a healthy, secure life

• the economy’s worth is judged by how successful it is in meeting actual needs and

providing for leisure


• we work only to maintain an income that can meet our basic needs

• quality of life is determined by the amount of leisure time that we have and put to good

use (Goodwin et al., 1997)

An Introduction to Wilderness Experience Programs (WEPs) and Nature’s Benefits

The definition of simple living – which emphasizes the importance of leisure time –

demonstrates how crucial our field is to maintaining a healthy, productive society. One of the

ways we can fulfill our role is by providing wilderness experience programs in communities

nationwide. Engagement in such programs benefits participants and society in three ways: it

fosters a healthier social environment, it provides environmental education, and it detracts

attention from money and goods and puts focus on relationships and simplicity.

Each generation of Americans spends less time outdoors than the last, missing out on the

benefits that nature provides. Studies show that “seeing or being present within nature can

reduce stress through the automatic generation of physiological and psychological responses”

(Bratman, Hamilton, & Daily, 2012, p. 122). This means that simple exposure to a natural

environment has a calming effect and relieves us of daily stresses. Psychologists Mayer and

Frantz, who developed the “Connectedness to Nature Scale,” demonstrated that by experiencing

nature, people feel they are a part of something bigger than themselves. This feeling overrides a

negative self-image, and the sense of belonging provides people with purpose and self-worth

(Bratman et al., 2012).

WEPs take the benefits of nature a step further. They often include a social aspect and

provide an environment in which individuals come together to build self-esteem, social bonds,

and a connection to and respect for nature. The environmental aspect is key to a sustainable

response to affluenza, as increasing consumerism rapidly depletes resources and creates waste.


Talbot and Kaplan (1986) found that during their experience, WEP participants gained a

greater appreciation for their surroundings. Where affluenza stems from a sense of entitlement

and results in environmental degradation, time in the wilderness leads participants to understand

the value of living in harmony with nature. Participants found that to survive, they had to

depend on the finite resources nature provided, and that awareness resulted in a sense of “awe

and wonder” (p. 185) at the natural world. A connection with nature makes us more likely to

protect it, and we realize that we cannot keep living as though nature can provide for an infinite

existence.

Wilderness survival not only teaches an appreciation for nature and its resources, but also

the joy of living simply. In Talbot and Kaplan’s study (1986), WEP participants cited enjoying

the relaxed pace and simplicity of being in the wilderness. They learned to let go of technology

and material goods, and take the opportunity to enjoy each other and nature. Exposure to and

reliance on nature through a WEP causes individuals to want to “slow down and simplify” (p.

180) their lives and become more involved in the outdoors (Talbot & Kaplan, 1986).

Apart from the environment, WEPs benefit our economy and society. Affluenza stems

from competition and a desire for social acceptance and value, and as consumers, we constantly

struggle to maintain our self-esteem. WEPs address this competitive mentality by giving people

the opportunity to develop and rebuild the valuable social bonds that affluenza has caused us to

neglect.

Surviving in the wilderness requires cooperation, team building and problem solving.

Russell, Hendee, and Cook (1998) demonstrated that WEP participants learned social and

communication skills and established a strong sense of community. Programs of this nature

require participants to work efficiently as a team by building bonds and supporting each other.


These lessons and skills can then be implemented in daily life to make our society and economy

stronger and more cooperative, rather than solely about competition.

WEPs also contribute to individual growth. In analyzing the journals students kept

during a wilderness discovery program, Russell, Hendee, and Cooke (1998) identified several

themes demonstrating the individual and social skills WEPs helped the students to develop. One

was empowerment. Participants showed increases in self-confidence and self-esteem, and “a

sense of personal power to take control and responsibility in one’s life” (Russell et al., 1998, p.

33).

WEPs also combat the depression and feelings of inadequacy that result from an inability

to buy more. Wilderness exposure was shown to provide clarity and peace to program

participants. Contact with nature and the opportunity to gain individual, social, and

environmental skills gave individuals an outlet for depression and stress, and a new outlook on

life (Russell et al., 1998).

In the process of personal and social growth, WEP participants develop into mentally

and emotionally strong individuals that can resist the temptations of increased consumerism.

Self-restraint and an appreciation for simplicity can extend into participants’ lives as consumers

and result in decreased consumption, decreased debt, and a more stable economy. The feeling of

self-worth and the importance of social bonds that participants take away from a wilderness

program combine to replace the companionship of credit cards and new, short-term products.

Existing Models: The National Outdoor Leadership School and Outward Bound

Several successful WEPs exist today, two of those being the National Outdoor

Leadership School (NOLS) and Outward Bound (OB). The results of these programs were

examined by Kellert and Derr (1998), from the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at


Yale University. In their study, the evaluators found that seventy-two percent of the participants

they surveyed considered their wilderness experience to be “one of the best in their life” (p. 16).

Participants grew in a number of ways that made them environmentally conscious, cooperative,

and empowered citizens with control over their identity and actions. Seventy percent of

participants stated that the program impacted their self-reliance, maturity, independence, and

confidence. Forty percent also indicated development of strong interpersonal and leadership

skills (Kellert & Derr, 1998).

These statistics demonstrated the countless benefits that wilderness experience programs

provide for individuals and society. Affluenza has created a consumer-centered approach that

degrades our economy, environment, and society; this is difficult, but not impossible, to address.

Wilderness programs attack affluenza at its heart: America’s competitive mentality and sense of

entitlement. As a field, we won’t get rid of credit cards, corporations, or the stream of new

goods that marketers produce, but we can create a society that doesn’t rely on these factors to

live a meaningful life.

Implementing WEPs as a Sustainable Solution to Affluenza

For America to fully experience the benefits of wilderness experience programs, our field

must implement them in a way that is accessible to the entire population. Affluenza affects rich

and poor alike, and it is our responsibility to offer everyone an equal opportunity to shed the

consumerist mentality. Consumers are captured at a young age, so integrating the solution into

our public education system is one way that the majority of the population, regardless of

background or socioeconomic status, could benefit. Wilderness experience programs could be

adapted to fit the model of a kid-friendly camp that would teach outdoor skills and

environmental conservation, build friendships between students of different ages and ethnicities,


and develop children’s self-esteem. These programs could be offered as part of the curriculum,

supplemented by education taxes the public already pays, plus a minimal participation fee.

The solution can be applied for adults as well. One viable way may be for private

organizations like NOLS and OB to offer a new version of a corporate “retreat.” A public

approach could be taken in conjunction with private organizations to reach a wider population.

Community centers and public welfare programs could integrate an outdoor experience into the

services they already offer.

Local parks and recreation departments could also contribute to the effort and specifically

target low-income populations with limited resources. The idea of “urban immersion” –

presented by Kardys, Fearn, Nardi, and Doyle at the 2013 NRPA Congress – has already been

embraced by the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces Department in

Florida. Recreation professionals created a multi-week program consisting of different field trips

with an outdoor focus that exposed students of varied backgrounds to the outdoors. By the end

of the program, they were more sociable and had gained a knowledge of and appreciation for the

natural environment.

The department not only saw the benefits firsthand, but received positive feedback from

the parents, who expressed the desire for a similar program of their own that would teach

environmental skills, foster relationships, and address healthy living (Kardys, Fearn, Nardi, &

Doyle, 2013). Again, this effort could be supplemented by taxes the public already pays, in

addition to a minimal fee. While these experiences might not be as extensive as what private

organizations offer, even a short time in the outdoors with the goals of WEPs in mind could help

build a connected, cooperative society and begin to shift our consumer attitude towards a simpler

lifestyle.


Conclusion

A WEP participant summarized his experience with the following: “The program helped

me realize who I was and how I fit into the world around me. This realization affects every

decision I make in my life” (Kellert & Derr, 1998, p. 18). As recreation professionals, this is the

result we strive for. Exposure to the wilderness is a way in which our field can contribute a

sustainable solution to the problem of affluenza. Wilderness experience programs build strong

individuals that love the environment. They build self-confident, self-reliant citizens who don’t

cling to consumerism for identity. They contribute to the social bonds we lost in our search for

material satisfaction, and they help us to work together and enjoy each other’s company.

The recreation, parks, and tourism administration industry has a duty to society. That is,

we work to provide meaningful, memorable experiences for all people to learn and grow.

Wilderness experience programs give us the opportunity to do just that, and to better our world at

the same time that we “live, protect, and explore.”


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