Optimal Finance Daily · Friday, August 28, 2026
A study by UCLA anthropologists revealed that contemporary U.S. households possess more items per household than any society in recorded history. Researchers documented people's interactions with their possessions and environments, finding that hyperconsumerism is evident in many home spaces. The study suggests that while Americans have many ways to accumulate possessions, they have few rituals for discarding them.
“Contemporary US households have more possessions per household than any society in global history”
“Hyperconsumerism is evident in many spaces, like garages, corners of home offices, and even sometimes in the corners of living rooms and bedrooms”
“We have lots of stuff. We have many mechanisms by which we accumulate possessions in our home, but we have few rituals or mechanisms or processes for unloading these objects, for getting rid of them”