Woman Is Frustrated About Having To Pay For Basic Human Necessities, Shows Where The USA Went Wrong
Interview
Nowadays, it feels like everything costs an arm and a leg, from things people do to treat themselves to the daily necessities in life.
The latter is what TikToker Amber Cimiotti discussed in a video that went viral. She shared that in her opinion, people nowadays have to pay for many important things in life that were previously naturally occurring, and quite a few netizens seemed to agree. Scroll down to find Amber’s thoughts below, where you will also find her recent interview with Bored Panda.
Amber believes that many basic human needs have been paywalled in the US
Image credits: ciaoamberc
In many cities, getting exercise as you go about your day is not easy, if at all possible
Image credits: Sadettin Dogan / pexels (not the actual photo)
As Americans, we’ve removed everything we actually need in daily life, like exercise, talking to friends, connecting with people, spending time with our kids. We’ve taken all of the naturally occurring things out of life, and made it so that those things can only be achieved by a therapy session, by an activity that we have to pay for.
There’s not many places, neighborhoods and cities where it’s super easy to walk everywhere, where you can get a lot of natural exercise, whether it’s walking to and from your house or to the grocery stores. This just doesn’t exist for most people now, so you have to wake up earlier, on your lunch break or after work, you have to go to the gym so you can get in your exercise.
People often need to pay to get human connection
Image credits: ciaoamberc
Talking. People are meant to just talk nonstop, but now we live really isolated and then, when you are talking, you’re probably at work in your professional mode. But people are meant to share their struggles, their stories, everyday things constantly, all the time. And we’re not doing that.
Image credits: George Pak / pexels (not the actual photo)
And what do you see happening? Nowadays everybody needs a therapist. Yes, therapy is needed for some things. But most people just need to be talking to people way more. And I don’t mean like trolling on the internet.
Kids’ activities, too, nowadays require more money
Image credits: ciaoamberc
Kid stuff. There used to be kids running around neighborhoods all the time, parents didn’t have to pay all this extra money to do activities so their kids can be involved in things, parents didn’t have to drive all over the place. No, they opened their door and there was kids everywhere.
Image credits: Antonius Ferret / pexels (not the actual photo)
But now that doesn’t exist. So we do need to pay for activities. We need to do special things, we need to be driving our kids all around.
Eating healthy in the US, according to Amber, is a part-time job
Image credits: ciaoamberc
Eating healthy food in America is a part-time job, if not a full-time job, between trying to find the right food, reading all the labels, understanding, reteaching what minerals and herbs and all these natural things in earth that help us. It would all be so much easier if we just had healthy food in general.
Image credits: Franki Chamaki / unsplash (not the actual photo)
The point is when things don’t happen naturally in your day and you need to take extra energy to achieve basic things like healthy food, exercise, talking to friends, which helps regulate emotions and things like that. When you have to build those into therapy sessions, exercise sessions, hobbies, reading 17 books, of course you’ll be tired.
The TikToker’s video was viewed nearly 440k times on the platform
@ciaoamberc #america #culture #family #friends #parenting #society ♬ original sound – Ciao AmberC
The distribution of what Americans spend most of their money on has changed over the years
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska / pexels (not the actual photo)
“I travel to Italy to see family when I can and I noticed a difference in the two societies,” Amber told Bored Panda, discussing how she came to the realization that so many things have been paywalled in the US. “Our society pushes things that cost money instead of the basic natural answer. In Italy they do this far less, although as the rest of the world becomes more Americanized, sadly, I think we will see it more and more in other countries too.
“I think America is the most extreme but the more Americanized countries become, they will find themselves in the same boat, especially with social media and the spread of information,” Amber continued, suggesting that everywhere you turn in America there is an option to do all the things you want or need, but not without paying.
But that arguably wasn’t always the case. As a matter of fact, the way Americans spend their money has changed quite significantly over the years. According to the “100 Years of U.S. Consumer Spending” report, back in 1900, a US household would spend most of their money on food, and the gap between expenditure on that and other things—entertainment, for instance—was quite significant.
By 2000, the gap between food and entertainment, in regards to spending, had diminished; however, the expenses on housing, for instance, had increased quite notably compared to 1900. Data suggests that the size of healthcare-related spending remained more or less the same throughout the hundred years, with only a slight increase around the 2000s.
The question of whether or not money can buy happiness remains unanswered
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska / pexels (not the actual photo)
Discussing how society got to the point of numerous basic needs being paywalled, the TikToker suggested that there might be several factors in play. “I don’t know exactly how we got here but corporate greed and the emphasis on money for happiness definitely plays a part,” she told Bored Panda.
Nowadays, the matter of whether or not money brings happiness seemingly remains a highly controversial topic. While some people believe that money can’t substitute all that we need to lead a happy life, others say that it can help by making it easier at least.
Some research seconds the latter approach. A study from 2010, for instance, suggested that more money doesn’t necessarily equal more happiness, but less money is linked with more emotional pain. It pointed out that $75,000 is likely to be “a threshold beyond which further increases in income no longer improve individuals’ ability to do what matters most to their emotional well-being, such as spending time with people they like, avoiding pain and disease, and enjoying leisure.”
A survey of over 2000 Americans found that for some, even $15,000 would make a meaningful impact in their lives. However, the average sum of money that would make a person happy, salary wise, at least, is roughly $285,000 per year (with men’s estimates ranging much higher than those of women—$381k and $183k, respectively). The survey also revealed that nearly six-in-ten Americans believe that money can buy happiness after all.
Bearing in mind that nowadays, few things in life are free, as Amber pointed out, people’s belief that their lives would be easier with money—consequently making them happier, too—is not that surprising. But while some expenses fall into the category of necessities, the non-essential spending, according to the TikToker, can be altered by changing our views.
“First step is awareness,” Amber suggested. “It would require a massive movement and change in the way we see everything, as we have been programmed since kids to constantly want more.”
Fellow netizens shared their views in the comments
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"People are meant to just talk nonstop" ....what? "But people are meant to share their struggles, their stories, everyday things constantly, all the time." ....what?!
Dear lord no lol please go away from me if you talk nonstop...I don't want to have to hurt you! (Jk of course)
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so tired of complaining tiktokers who say s**t like i cant even take a walk
ehh. kids can still play outside, you just need to stop being lazy and put then in front of smartphones. also, i dont think any generation has ever shared so many of their "struggles" like they do now. wtf does she want with more talking? nothing here makes sense
... and if no-one elses kids are going out to play, who are they gonna play with?
Load More Replies... Pretty much sums it up why Americans love life in Europe. Cause all that is still part of standard life (playing out front, vegetables around the corner, et cetera, just not the talking part per se).
They fell for a lie. The American dream is work hard to have a big house. From wiki: Originally, the emphasis was on democracy, liberty and equality, but more recently has been on achieving material wealth and upward mobility.[3] The Dutch dream is housy, animal, tree. When feminism started Dutch women protested and refused to work full time and fought for their right to work part time and stay home part time and bake cookies with the kids. It all got more expensive here too, but not as bad as in America.
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Good. Nice rant. But now, which solutions are you offering? Sure you can't change the whole world by yourself but .... What steps are you (gonna) take to initiate change around you?
Capitalism: Destroys the world | Person: notices | Other person: "Okay person, this is YOUR thing to fix".
Load More Replies... Clickbait, America-sucks nonsense. Kids playing outside: they can still play outside. Food: just learn a couple basic recipes and stick to the produce/deli section. Exercise: go for a jog/walk. Great job, BP "author".
Quit identfying a few insane cties as "America." Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Fran bay area, Washington and New York are not typical of "America."
There isn’t a typical American. They represent part of America but so do smaller cities, towns, little municipalities, etc. It’s all fair to say it represents that part of America. My “America” likely looks different than yours. That’s the thing - it’s a huge country.
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Idk where she lives in America but literally everything she describes as lacking, we have in our neighborhood. Kids, parks, walking, neighbors to talk to... can we walk to the grocery store? No. But we grow our veggies and it's really not that hard to eat healthy. It's a little more expensive sometimes but it's not bad with a strong budget you stick to. Europe is not an ideal fairyland either. She better not go to Finland if she wants people to talk to lol
So many people just don't have the option of "a little more expensive".
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Some of these people, including her, are absolutely delusional. Are some things missing? Absolutely. Is that only true in the US? Absolutely not. CHOOSING not to get out of your home and exercise, doesn't fall on other people or "things have changed", that's 100% on you. Not talking to people, not leaving your home, not exercising, not finding ways to eat better (within your means, not always super easy, but still possible), not getting your kids involved in things that don't break your bank....that's ALL on you. I live in an area that's about half rural and half suburban, with moderate to low incomes. I see kids outside everywhere. I see people getting in exercise. I see people socializing. I see people making do with the means they have (I frequently travel to very busy cities for a month or two at a time, and see the same). Some things have changed, but definitely not everything she claims. She needs to get out of her little bubble now and then.
As an epileptic who lives in America, I tell you that I am completely unable to drive due to medical purposes. I have a full time job and two kids, perfect work attendance and my children are in extracurriculars such as dance and baseball. Life is more than possible without car access. Go figure things out rather than complaining and being the victim of a 1st world nation.
Agreed. I must live without a car, have central vertigo, and I manage just fine. It was hard at first, now it's ok.
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America America America....I am really interested in what's going on in Finland! Despite being their neighbour, I barely hear anything about them!
Meh. Inflammatory statements made to increase her numbers in the race for an ego stroke and a few more pennies from advertisements. I wonder how much of her time she spends doing things like this rather than the things she said have been taken away? The irony of it is that she's spouting her opinion using the tool that has changed human interaction the most in the last 20 or so years.
Wholeheartedly agree. America and Canada used to have walkable neighbourhoods, services within a couple of blocks of houses, and great mass transit. Then cars came along, and these cities were destroyed by highways and roads and zoning laws and minimum parking laws.
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While I empathize, you should be making some effort to take care of yourself, for a lot of these.
While being expected to work longer hours, with less job security in a more expensive world. People only have so much motivation and energy.
Load More Replies...
Capitalism worked great while people were running businesses to be comfortable. then in the 2000's people decided they needed to have more money than they could spend in one lifetime and now we are all miserable except the top 1%.
Another BP "author" mysteriously changes the headline of their article. 🤔
People are meant to talk nonstop. Instead of coming up with creative solutions, they are meant to shove their stupid faces into cameras and complain nonstop for internet attention. Hey bored panda - please stop posting these boring tiktoks. They are the lowest possible content, save for kardashian/kanye/swift trash posts.
I always love how people who live in a place complain, Just fn move idiot. I learned that in first grade. Now we have Americans love it more in Europe... what? We have more people moving here than away. I forgot facts don't matter on BP.
No, a lot of the problems she is describing are down to having a car-centred culture. There are many parts of Canada are the same. If you don't have access to a car, you are stuck.
Load More Replies...
"People are meant to just talk nonstop" ....what? "But people are meant to share their struggles, their stories, everyday things constantly, all the time." ....what?!
Dear lord no lol please go away from me if you talk nonstop...I don't want to have to hurt you! (Jk of course)
Load More Replies... so tired of complaining tiktokers who say s**t like i cant even take a walk
ehh. kids can still play outside, you just need to stop being lazy and put then in front of smartphones. also, i dont think any generation has ever shared so many of their "struggles" like they do now. wtf does she want with more talking? nothing here makes sense
... and if no-one elses kids are going out to play, who are they gonna play with?
Load More Replies... Pretty much sums it up why Americans love life in Europe. Cause all that is still part of standard life (playing out front, vegetables around the corner, et cetera, just not the talking part per se).
They fell for a lie. The American dream is work hard to have a big house. From wiki: Originally, the emphasis was on democracy, liberty and equality, but more recently has been on achieving material wealth and upward mobility.[3] The Dutch dream is housy, animal, tree. When feminism started Dutch women protested and refused to work full time and fought for their right to work part time and stay home part time and bake cookies with the kids. It all got more expensive here too, but not as bad as in America.
Load More Replies... Good. Nice rant. But now, which solutions are you offering? Sure you can't change the whole world by yourself but .... What steps are you (gonna) take to initiate change around you?
Capitalism: Destroys the world | Person: notices | Other person: "Okay person, this is YOUR thing to fix".
Load More Replies... Clickbait, America-sucks nonsense. Kids playing outside: they can still play outside. Food: just learn a couple basic recipes and stick to the produce/deli section. Exercise: go for a jog/walk. Great job, BP "author".
Quit identfying a few insane cties as "America." Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Fran bay area, Washington and New York are not typical of "America."
There isn’t a typical American. They represent part of America but so do smaller cities, towns, little municipalities, etc. It’s all fair to say it represents that part of America. My “America” likely looks different than yours. That’s the thing - it’s a huge country.
Load More Replies... Idk where she lives in America but literally everything she describes as lacking, we have in our neighborhood. Kids, parks, walking, neighbors to talk to... can we walk to the grocery store? No. But we grow our veggies and it's really not that hard to eat healthy. It's a little more expensive sometimes but it's not bad with a strong budget you stick to. Europe is not an ideal fairyland either. She better not go to Finland if she wants people to talk to lol
So many people just don't have the option of "a little more expensive".
Load More Replies... Some of these people, including her, are absolutely delusional. Are some things missing? Absolutely. Is that only true in the US? Absolutely not. CHOOSING not to get out of your home and exercise, doesn't fall on other people or "things have changed", that's 100% on you. Not talking to people, not leaving your home, not exercising, not finding ways to eat better (within your means, not always super easy, but still possible), not getting your kids involved in things that don't break your bank....that's ALL on you. I live in an area that's about half rural and half suburban, with moderate to low incomes. I see kids outside everywhere. I see people getting in exercise. I see people socializing. I see people making do with the means they have (I frequently travel to very busy cities for a month or two at a time, and see the same). Some things have changed, but definitely not everything she claims. She needs to get out of her little bubble now and then.
As an epileptic who lives in America, I tell you that I am completely unable to drive due to medical purposes. I have a full time job and two kids, perfect work attendance and my children are in extracurriculars such as dance and baseball. Life is more than possible without car access. Go figure things out rather than complaining and being the victim of a 1st world nation.
Agreed. I must live without a car, have central vertigo, and I manage just fine. It was hard at first, now it's ok.
Load More Replies... America America America....I am really interested in what's going on in Finland! Despite being their neighbour, I barely hear anything about them!
Meh. Inflammatory statements made to increase her numbers in the race for an ego stroke and a few more pennies from advertisements. I wonder how much of her time she spends doing things like this rather than the things she said have been taken away? The irony of it is that she's spouting her opinion using the tool that has changed human interaction the most in the last 20 or so years.
Wholeheartedly agree. America and Canada used to have walkable neighbourhoods, services within a couple of blocks of houses, and great mass transit. Then cars came along, and these cities were destroyed by highways and roads and zoning laws and minimum parking laws.
Load More Replies... While I empathize, you should be making some effort to take care of yourself, for a lot of these.
While being expected to work longer hours, with less job security in a more expensive world. People only have so much motivation and energy.
Load More Replies... Capitalism worked great while people were running businesses to be comfortable. then in the 2000's people decided they needed to have more money than they could spend in one lifetime and now we are all miserable except the top 1%.
Another BP "author" mysteriously changes the headline of their article. 🤔
People are meant to talk nonstop. Instead of coming up with creative solutions, they are meant to shove their stupid faces into cameras and complain nonstop for internet attention. Hey bored panda - please stop posting these boring tiktoks. They are the lowest possible content, save for kardashian/kanye/swift trash posts.
I always love how people who live in a place complain, Just fn move idiot. I learned that in first grade. Now we have Americans love it more in Europe... what? We have more people moving here than away. I forgot facts don't matter on BP.
No, a lot of the problems she is describing are down to having a car-centred culture. There are many parts of Canada are the same. If you don't have access to a car, you are stuck.
Load More Replies...
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