English Rewind - Weekender: affluenza

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was first broadcast in February 2007 on the BBC Learning English website.

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Hello, welcome to Weekender. I'm Jackie Dalton.

Today we're going to talk about 'affluenza'.

That's a word you've probably not heard before, but don't worry,

that's because it's only just been invented, by a man called Oliver James.

Oliver James is a psychologist — someone whose job involves the study of the mind

and how it affects people's behaviour.

He's invented the word 'affluenza' to describe a problem

that he says is affecting a lot of people and making them very unhappy.

It's not a real word that you would find in the dictionary,

but it's a mixture of two words.

'Affluenza' is a mix of the word 'affluent',

which means to have lots of money and expensive things

and the word 'influenza', which is a disease, like a cold,

that people can catch from each other.

So what is affluenza all about?

What is causing this strange so-called 'disease'

that Oliver James says is spreading and making people miserable?

Listen to him explain what he means.

It's placing a high value on money, possessions, appearances —

physical and social — and fame.

And people who put a higher value on those things,

in studies in 14 different nations,

have been found to be more likely to suffer from mental illnesses of all kinds.

Oliver James says 'affluenza'

is the result of people giving a lot of importance to things like money, fame

and possessions — 'possessions', the things you own.

He also says it's because people place a high value on appearances —

what you look like.

The people who think these things are very important

usually end up less happy than other people.

Oliver has been looking at 14 different countries.

He says that people living in English-speaking countries

are likely to suffer from affluenza more than people in the rest of Europe.

In fact, people living in English-speaking nations

are twice as likely to suffer from mental illnesses

and he believes this is because they place more importance on affluence

than the rest of Western Europe.

BBC Learning English dot com.

Oliver James says that people suffering from affluenza

look for what he calls 'confected wants' —

the wants that businesses and advertisers want you to want —

not things you actually need to be happy.

You're constantly searching confected wants,

the wants that advertisers and big business want you to want

and you end up having rather than being.

'Confected wants' —

an unusual term for what Oliver James says advertisers or big business

make you feel you want, like a fast car, an expensive television or softer skin.

He says you end up 'having', not 'being', which won't make you happy.

So what's the solution?

Oliver says we should be following countries like Denmark.

They have a good standard of living,

but they aren't so concerned with making money, working long hours

and worrying about status — 'status', how important they or powerful people appear.

And the most important thing about these countries?

They value 'childcare', looking after children.

What does Oliver say is the one thing

that he thinks would do the most to reduce 'affluenza' and make people happier?

Listen to find out.

If there was one single thing I would choose, of all the many,

it would be that we should pay the average annual wage to one or other parent

to look after their children full time or to share it.

It would mean that we start valuing the things that really matter,

which is looking after our children.

Did you get the answer?

He says if there was one single thing which could change society for the better,

it would be for parents to be paid an average salary

to stay at home and look after the children.

Now, a reminder of some of the language we've heard.

psychologist,

affluent,

influenza,

possessions,

appearances,

childcare,

status.

To end, here's a chance to listen to all the clips

we heard from Oliver James again.

It's placing a high value on money, possessions, appearances —

physical and social — and fame.

And people who put a higher value on those things,

in studies in 14 different nations,

have been found to be more likely to suffer from mental illnesses of all kinds.

You're constantly searching confected wants,

the wants that advertisers and big business want you to want

and you end up having rather than being.

If there was one single thing I would choose, of all the many,

it would be that we should pay the average annual wage to one or other parent

to look after their children full time or to share it.

It would mean that we start valuing the things that really matter,

which is looking after our children.

BBC Learning English dot com.