Big Love Spotlights Online Shopping Addiction

I confess – I’m hooked on Big Love. I recently got turned onto it, and can’t stop myself. We don’t have cable in the boonies where I live, so I have been forced to schlep down to the local Blockbuster to catch up on previous seasons. What I’m seeing fascinates me – particularly in relationship to addictions. By the way, how do I know I’m not addicted to the show? Because as much as I like it, I don’t let it interfere with my daily activities. I’m not missing work to watch it, for example, or using mortgage money to pay for the rentals.

And I’m not saying polygamy is sex addiction – we’ll let some other expert weight in on that one. My interest is in Bill’s second wife, Nikki, and her online shopping addiction. At one point, she racks up $60 grand in credit card debt, only to have hubby pay it off, and start all over again. Plus, she temporarily transfers her shopping addiction over to a bingo hall for a few episodes. Anyone who has ever transferred addictions understands what happens. Ever been to an AA meeting where you couldn’t see through the cigarette smoke?

We just passed Cyber Monday, where online shopping hits it big for Christmas presents. How does online shopping addiction differ from offline shopping addictions? The concept is the same. A person gets a quick thrill from the acquisition and fails to make a connection to an actual impact on the wallet. The danger is, you don’t actually get to carry stuff home, so you have to make more purchases to get the thrill. So watch your wallet and if you get a chance, Big Love.