Your Brain On Poverty: Why Poor People Seem to Make Bad Decisions
2016 09 18 | journal
"It is not worth it to me to live a bleak life devoid of small pleasures so that one day I can make a single large purchase. I will never have large pleasures to hold on to. There’s a certain pull to live what bits of life you can while there’s money in your pocket, because no matter how responsible you are you will be broke in three days anyway. When you never have enough money it ceases to have meaning. I imagine having a lot of it is the same thing."
That’s an interesting way of phrasing it, and one I’ve gone through myself, though without the same articulation. When small pleasures are all you have, you make a life of them when you can.
"Poverty is bleak and cuts off your long-term brain. It’s why you see people with four different babydaddies instead of one. You grab a bit of connection wherever you can to survive. You have no idea how strong the pull to feel worthwhile is. It’s more basic than food."
And though I’ve felt this, I never went that particular route to get it. I couldn’t allow myself to be the sort of person that slept around. Instead, I put more value on attention and friendships. It is satisfying, but never quite enough. And, sadly, old habits have a nasty long-term effect. I spent a lot of time being alone and lonely. Because you can’t afford to do the things that others consider normal, I see why the sex route happens. It allows you to do something with your day, with yourself, it gives you an outlet that lack of money disallows you from otherwise.
While this is certainly not the case for all, I do see where the sense of it comes from.