--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As far as I can see, this is a problem…" description: "\"“As far as I can see, this is a problem with living in the twenty-first century. Many of us have every material thing we need, so the job of marketing ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/627/matt-haig-1036_quote_as-far-as-i-can-see-this-is-a-problem-wi_1713632.jpg" --- # As far as I can see, this is a problem with living in the… ![“As far as I can see, this is a problem with living in the twenty-first century. Many of us have every material thing we need, so the job of marketing is now to tie the economy to our emotions, to make us feel like we need more by making us want things we never needed before. We are made to feel…” quote by Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/627/matt-haig-1036_quote_as-far-as-i-can-see-this-is-a-problem-wi_1713632.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/627/matt-haig-1036_quote_as-far-as-i-can-see-this-is-a-problem-wi_1713632.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/627/matt-haig-1036_quote_as-far-as-i-can-see-this-is-a-problem-wi_1713632.jpg) > ““As far as I can see, this is a problem with living in the twenty-first century. Many of us have every material thing we need, so the job of marketing is now to tie the economy to our emotions, to make us feel like we need more by making us want things we never needed before. We are made to feel poor on thirty thousand pounds a year. To feel poorly travelled if we have been to only ten other countries. To feel too old if we have a wrinkle. To feel ugly if we aren’t photoshopped and filtered. No one I knew in the 1600s wanted to find their inner billionaire. They just wanted to live to see adolescence and avoid body lice.”” [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern consumer culture exploits abundance, linking products to emotions, creating perpetual dissatisfaction despite material wealth. **In simple terms:** We feel lacking because marketing ties happiness to consumption. Key Takeaway Recognize and resist emotional manipulation. Themes consumerism psychology modern life media self-esteem Mood critical reflective Type analytical social commentary When to use this quote - shopping - social media scrolling - career advancement - personal budgeting - mental health counseling Key Concepts materialism emotional labor comparative scarcity Questions to Reflect On - How does advertising shape your self-worth? - What habits can reduce emotional spending? A Different Perspective The quote overlooks structural economic inequalities that also drive feelings of inadequacy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Economy Emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy-emotions-1269883/) [Feel Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-old/) [Feel Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-poor-344129/) [Feel Poorly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-poorly-344132/) [Feel Ugly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-ugly-344131/) ## Related quotes > [“A problem with living in the twenty-first century… we are made to feel poor on thirty thousand pounds a year. To feel poorly travelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/a-problem-with-living-in-the-twenty-first-century-we-are-made-to-feel/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“Many of us have every material thing we need, so the job of marketing is now to tie the economy to our emotions, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/many-of-us-have-every-material-thing-we-need-so-the-job-of-marketing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [People feel poorly because they are nourished by foods you wouldn't feed to your dog and cat. The rich western diet is full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-mcdougall/people-feel-poorly-because-they-are-nourished-by-foods-you-wouldn-t/) [John A. McDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-mcdougall/) > [“For decades and decades and decades I have bemoaned people who say they feel old, but I now realise it is perfectly possible for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/for-decades-and-decades-and-decades-i-have-bemoaned-people-who-say/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [If the poor ever feel poor as the rich do, we will have a most bloody revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/if-the-poor-ever-feel-poor-as-the-rich-do-we-will-have-a-most-bloody/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Few save the poor feel for the poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-elizabeth-landon/few-save-the-poor-feel-for-the-poor/) [Letitia Elizabeth Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-elizabeth-landon/) > [Am I in the Forbes 100? Absolutely not, and I'll never be there. But for the first time I make so much money that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-needles/am-i-in-the-forbes-100-absolutely-not-and-i-ll-never-be-there-but-for/) [Sharon Needles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-needles/) > [Alone, human beings can feel hunger. Alone, we can feel cold. Alone, we can feel pain. To feel poor, however, is something we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-greitens/alone-human-beings-can-feel-hunger-alone-we-can-feel-cold-alone-we/) [Eric Greitens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-greitens/) > [You do not have to have money to attract money, but you cannot feel poor and attract money. The key is, you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/you-do-not-have-to-have-money-to-attract-money-but-you-cannot-feel/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [Im scared to death of being poor. Its like a fat girl who loses 500 pounds but is always fat inside. I grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cher/im-scared-to-death-of-being-poor-its-like-a-fat-girl-who-loses-500/) [Cher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cher/) > [“Look Below and You'll feel Rich, Look Above and You'll feel Poor”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vineet-raj-kapoor/look-below-and-you-ll-feel-rich-look-above-and-you-ll-feel-poor/) [Vineet Raj Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vineet-raj-kapoor/) > [I'm called 'the poorest president', but I don't feel poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mujica/i-m-called-the-poorest-president-but-i-don-t-feel-poor/) [Jose Mujica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mujica/) > [I can live well with what I have.I’m called ‘the poorest president’, but I don’t feel poor. Poor people are those who only work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mujica/i-can-live-well-with-what-i-have-i-m-called-the-poorest-president-but/) [Jose Mujica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mujica/) > [They call me poor but I don't feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle &…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-call-me-poor-but-i-don-t-feel-poor-poor-people-are-those-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As the twentieth century draws to a close it has become obvious that material yardsticks alone cannot serve as an adequate measure of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aung-san-suu-kyi/as-the-twentieth-century-draws-to-a-close-it-has-become-obvious-that/) [Aung San Suu Kyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aung-san-suu-kyi/) ## More by Matt Haig > [“Maybe that is what growing up was all about. It was about changing your mind. Opening it right up. Admitting to yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/maybe-that-is-what-growing-up-was-all-about-it-was-about-changing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“It felt civilised and modern. It felt refined and tantalising, all at once, like a polite collective pre-orgasm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/it-felt-civilised-and-modern-it-felt-refined-and-tantalising-all-at/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [If you can't give children optimism, then what are you doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/if-you-can-t-give-children-optimism-then-what-are-you-doing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“He just wanted to live inside a moment of that life with her forever, to pluck it like a flower and press it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/he-just-wanted-to-live-inside-a-moment-of-that-life-with-her-forever/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [British culture is very cynical sometimes of overt displays of sentimentality, and I think that becomes almost a suspicion of emotion, or a suspicion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/british-culture-is-very-cynical-sometimes-of-overt-displays-of/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“That is one of the patterns: when nothing is happening, nothing continues to happen, but after a while the lull becomes too much and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/that-is-one-of-the-patterns-when-nothing-is-happening-nothing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [The single biggest act of bravery or madness anyone can do is the act of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/the-single-biggest-act-of-bravery-or-madness-anyone-can-do-is-the-act/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [For me, as a writer, I desperately want to be read. I'm very conscious of readers as I'm writing. I think, 'If you write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/for-me-as-a-writer-i-desperately-want-to-be-read-i-m-very-conscious/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“It’s not you. It’s them. (No, really. It is.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/it-s-not-you-it-s-them-no-really-it-is/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“We are all so weird that, really, none of us are. There are seven billion versions of strange on this freak wonder of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/we-are-all-so-weird-that-really-none-of-us-are-there-are-seven/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“Sa asculti muzica, mi-am dat eu seama, nu era altceva decat placerea de a numara fara sa iti dai seama ca numeri.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/sa-asculti-muzica-mi-am-dat-eu-seama-nu-era-altceva-decat-placerea-de/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“Beauty--be not caused," said Emily Dickinson. "It is." In one way she was wrong. The scattering of light over a long distance creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/beauty-be-not-caused-said-emily-dickinson-it-is-in-one-way-she-was/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [I'm a firm believer in the connection between the body and the mind: feed one, feed both. I like to run, but only short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/i-m-a-firm-believer-in-the-connection-between-the-body-and-the-mind/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [Look at the sky; remind yourself of the cosmos. Seek vastness at every opportunity in order to see the smallness of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/look-at-the-sky-remind-yourself-of-the-cosmos-seek-vastness-at-every/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [A book is a map. There will be times in your life when you will feel lost and confused. The way back to yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/a-book-is-a-map-there-will-be-times-in-your-life-when-you-will-feel/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) [Explore all 294 Matt Haig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) ## More Feel Poor quotes > [You do not have to have money to attract money, but you cannot feel poor and attract money. The key is, you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/you-do-not-have-to-have-money-to-attract-money-but-you-cannot-feel/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [They call me poor but I don't feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle &…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-call-me-poor-but-i-don-t-feel-poor-poor-people-are-those-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can live well with what I have.I’m called ‘the poorest president’, but I don’t feel poor. Poor people are those who only work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mujica/i-can-live-well-with-what-i-have-i-m-called-the-poorest-president-but/) [Jose Mujica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mujica/) > [I'm called 'the poorest president', but I don't feel poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mujica/i-m-called-the-poorest-president-but-i-don-t-feel-poor/) [Jose Mujica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mujica/) > [“Look Below and You'll feel Rich, Look Above and You'll feel Poor”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vineet-raj-kapoor/look-below-and-you-ll-feel-rich-look-above-and-you-ll-feel-poor/) [Vineet Raj Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vineet-raj-kapoor/) > [Im scared to death of being poor. Its like a fat girl who loses 500 pounds but is always fat inside. I grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cher/im-scared-to-death-of-being-poor-its-like-a-fat-girl-who-loses-500/) [Cher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cher/) > [Alone, human beings can feel hunger. Alone, we can feel cold. Alone, we can feel pain. To feel poor, however, is something we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-greitens/alone-human-beings-can-feel-hunger-alone-we-can-feel-cold-alone-we/) [Eric Greitens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-greitens/) > [“Many of us have every material thing we need, so the job of marketing is now to tie the economy to our emotions, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/many-of-us-have-every-material-thing-we-need-so-the-job-of-marketing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [Am I in the Forbes 100? Absolutely not, and I'll never be there. But for the first time I make so much money that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-needles/am-i-in-the-forbes-100-absolutely-not-and-i-ll-never-be-there-but-for/) [Sharon Needles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-needles/) > [Few save the poor feel for the poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-elizabeth-landon/few-save-the-poor-feel-for-the-poor/) [Letitia Elizabeth Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-elizabeth-landon/) > [If the poor ever feel poor as the rich do, we will have a most bloody revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/if-the-poor-ever-feel-poor-as-the-rich-do-we-will-have-a-most-bloody/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [“A problem with living in the twenty-first century… we are made to feel poor on thirty thousand pounds a year. To feel poorly travelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/a-problem-with-living-in-the-twenty-first-century-we-are-made-to-feel/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [As the twentieth century draws to a close it has become obvious that material yardsticks alone cannot serve as an adequate measure of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aung-san-suu-kyi/as-the-twentieth-century-draws-to-a-close-it-has-become-obvious-that/) [Aung San Suu Kyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aung-san-suu-kyi/) > [I'm scared to death of being poor. It's like a fat girl who loses 500 pounds but is always fat inside. I grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cher/i-m-scared-to-death-of-being-poor-it-s-like-a-fat-girl-who-loses-500/) [Cher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cher/) > [Comfort the weak and feel the poor. What on earth do we need government for?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-davies/comfort-the-weak-and-feel-the-poor-what-on-earth-do-we-need/) [Ray Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-davies/) [Browse all 18 Feel Poor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-poor-344129/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As far as I can see, this is a problem with living in the twenty-first century. Many of us have every material thing we need, so the job of marketing is now to tie the economy to our emotions, to make us feel like we need more by making us want things we never needed before. We are made to feel poor on thirty thousand pounds a year. To feel poorly travelled if we have been to only ten other countries. To feel too old if we have a wrinkle. To feel ugly if we aren’t photoshopped and filtered. No one I knew in the 1600s wanted to find their inner billionaire. 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