Memories are a durable investment
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Donald Marron Guest blogger
A recurring theme of recent happiness research is that when it comes to seeking pleasure, people should 鈥渂uy experiences rather聽than things.鈥� People are happier when they skip the shiny baubles (or new high heels) and do something memorable.
Over at the Atlantic, Garett Jones gives one economic explanation for this finding: .
[M]emory, wholly intangible, is quite durable.
People often shrink from driving to a distant, promising restaurant, flying to a new country, trying a new sport鈥搃t鈥檚 a hassle, and the experience won鈥檛 last that long.聽That鈥檚 the wrong way to look at it.聽When you go bungee jumping, you鈥檙e not buying a brief experience: You鈥檙e buying a memory, one that might last even longer than a good pair of blue jeans.
Psych research seems to bear this out: People love looking forward to vacations, they don鈥檛 like the vacation that much while they鈥檙e on it, and then they love the memories. Most of the joy鈥搕he utility in econospeak鈥揾appens when you鈥檙e not having the experience. 鈥�
[P]eople treat memories somewhat like durables, but most of us could do a better job of it. Yes, it鈥檒l be a hassle to find that聽riad in Marrakech聽when your GPS fails you, but complaining about it with your sibling years later will be a ton of fun. Get on with it.
A corollary: if memory really is a durable, then you should buy a lot of it when聽you鈥檙e young. That鈥檒l give you more years to enjoy your purchase.
So it鈥檚 worth a bit of suffering to create some good memories, since the future lasts a lot longer than the present.
That鈥檚 good advice. But I can鈥檛 help thinking that people who are unhappy on vacation are doing it wrong. Then again, maybe my recollection is blurred by selective memory?
In any case, the little feline above is a great example of Garett鈥檚 thesis. Since I was a child, I had always wanted to see an ocelot in the wild. And last summer, Esther and I found one in Brazil. Our entire encounter lasted about 15 seconds and produced a couple of mediocre photos. But until my brain gives out, I will always cherish seeing the little critter.
P.S. About 20 years ago, I recall someone attributing the 鈥渕emory is a durable good鈥� idea to Milton Friedman. If anyone鈥檚 got a cite to that, please post in the comments.
P.P.S. Will Wilkinson also on Garett鈥檚 thesis.
