American consumerism seems to be at an all-time high.

A few years ago, people cared mostly about buying brand-name clothes. Today, we wouldn't be caught dead without furniture from Ikea, kitchen utensils from Williams-Sonoma or makeup from Estee Lauder. Among young adults, this tendency is especially worrisome.

College students often graduate with large debts. And while everyone is quick to point out those pesky student loans, they are not the sole culprit. The growing need to buy -- and buy fashionably -- is killing our wallets.

Don't get me wrong. I appreciate nice things just as much as the next person. I love to cook, and I'm obsessed with salt and pepper grinders. I decided to treat myself to a nice set, and was prepared to spend about $10 for them. How naïve of me. At Williams-Sonoma, I found out, they range from $30 to over $100. Unless you are planning on becoming the next Emeril Lagasse, there is really no excuse to buy such overpriced items.

Some people are certainly able to afford such material luxuries. But for the majority, having the money in the bank -- or worse yet, on a credit card -- does not necessarily mean you can truly afford something.

When I think of people's spending, it reminds me of when I was a teenager in Costa Rica. My cousins and I were chased by a gigantic white bull while picking guavas in a field. I grabbed my 5-year-old cousin and ran for the fence, while my brother and another cousin ran up a tree. Big mistake. Everyone knows that running up a tree is the last thing you want to do because the bull will wait patiently for hours for you to climb down. And he did.

Financial debts often act like that bull, charging after us until we end up doing irrational things like using one credit card to pay the minimum on another, even though we know better than to do that.

So why do we it? One reason is a need to show others we "made it." After college you get a job, and with a job (or even an internship) comes all sorts of displays of success. While driving a new car or sporting the latest fashions might be more visible to others, having no financial debt is a more accurate measure of success.

Another reason is relative deprivation. If everyone is carrying the newest Coach handbag, then we might feel embarrassed to still be carrying one of those horrible tiny backpacks that were incomprehensibly stylish eight years ago. Humans value aesthetics, and I love people who dress with style. But style and price don't always go hand in hand. The clearest example are Louis Vuitton products. I never understood why so many people are willing to pay hundreds of dollars for bags the color of excrement with vomit-colored monograms.

We also shop because shopping often fulfills emotional needs. We are all familiar with the term "retail-therapy." Who hasn't turned a bad day into a good one by buying a little something?

There is a difference, however, between a bit of self-indulgence and the kind of shopping that leaves your bank account with a negative balance.

Reliance upon material items as substitutes for emotional feedback we could receive from other humans is at an all-time high. Everything from the dummies people buy to being able to drive in the high occupancy vehicle lane to the Japanese pillow shaped like a male torso and arm for lonely women to cuddle with at night bear witness to this.

While the real world provides plenty of reasons to shop, that is not the only place we receive these signals from.

Television also contributes to our insatiable need to buy. TV shows present lifestyles that many wish to imitate and falsely believe they can.

A Jan. 11 CNN article argued, however, that the lifestyles portrayed by TV characters are often unrealistic given the jobs they hold. If Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw brings home $57,000 a year, the average salary for a columnist in New York, she should not be able to live in a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, constantly dine out, drink cosmopolitans at fancy bars, hop in taxis and buy Manolo Blahnik shoes.

Young Americans in debt is such a hot topic -- and a serious one -- that many organizations and Web sites have sprung up to offer some advice. One such Web site, www.youcandealwithit.org, offers all sorts of useful information about credit cards, budgeting, consolidating loans, paying off student loans, etc. It even lets you calculate how long it might take you to become a millionaire. With the salary I hope to make after I get my Ph.D, and the amount of money I am willing to invest, it claimed I could be a millionaire by the time I am 97. So I might never be a millionaire. But if I can go through life without owing large sums of money, I will probably sleep better at night anyway.