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Austin T. Sonnier
Professor Krause
English 12
19 May 2015
The Paradox of Choice
Every day life choices have grown exponentially in the modern world of
consumptive consumers viciously engulfing products, technologies, resources and
property. Could it be that with all of the choices we have, more could in fact mean less?
The media and Internet make it possible for everyone in the world to see everything in
the world. Because of this, people will always think there is something else out there
better for them and will be dissatisfied with what is already possessed. The tyranny of
choices leading to a more is less philosophy is called The Paradox of Choice. The
paradox of choice leads to depression and a sense of dissatisfaction wrapped in failure.

In the views of many working class college educated elitists, money is directly
proportional to success, which is directly proportional to happiness. But, what if it was
found that many lottery winners end up with alcoholism and depression? A lottery
winners seemingly exponential increase in money and choices leads to depression. What
started out as more, in the form of excess money, ended up as less, in the form of mental
health. It is even found that in a study by a famous Sociologist named Emile Durkheim
that a sudden influx of wealth leads to individual anomie or the lack of usual social
or ethical standards. More money leads to less ethics. With more money one can have
many more options opened up to oneself in the embodiment of products, lavish parties,

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and vacations. However, in the article Finding Prosperity as a Lottery Winner:
Presentations of Self after Acquisition of Sudden Wealth, it is found that a woman named
Vivian Nicholson, who spent her millions on football gambling pools, ended up in
bankruptcy and in a downward spiral of personal crises. Newly rich lottery winners can
buy any car, house or cloths desired, but the newly discovered choices still lead to
depression. The case of more money and happiness are actually inversely proportional
because the more money one has, the more choices one has, and the less happiness one
has. Too many choices lead to the paradox of choice, which leads to depression: With
Vivians post-winning consumption patterns and tragic life story, she may well personify
the unhappy, squandering winner.

The paradox of choice leading to depression is prevalent in the second half of

high school as many students commence their application processes for admission into
collegiate higher learning. The increase of choices in the modern world has increased
exponentially in the high school education sector. In an article by Quartz, titled Blame
The Common App, it is discovered that (college) applications have jumped by 70%
from 2004 to 2014. Theres only been a 5% increase in high school graduates. The rate
of college applications has increased 65 percent more than the rate of high school
graduates. This means that students everywhere are taking advantage of all of the choices
they now have because of the electronically submitted common app. They are applying to
more schools than ever before. I am personally affected by this statistic. I know many
students who force their parents to spend essentially hundreds and thousands of dollars
on excess applications. For example, a friend of mind applied to eighteen schools. She
only received acceptances from four of them. The rejection, multiplied by a magnitude of

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fourteen, crushed her. She was unable to see the positivity of her four successes because
the paradox of choice was like a shadow of negativity and failure obscuring the four
victories. My father, Dr. Keith Sonnier, is an example of how less is more. He only
applied to one college, LSU and got in. He then applied to just one dental school, LSU
School of Dentistry, and got in. He has a two for two one hundred percent success rating
that is a great source of joy and pride in my family. Rewinding back to young students,
according to the American Psychological Association, the number of students seriously
considering suicide across the United States has increased almost seven percent from
2010 to 2013. In 2013, 30.3 percent of students were seriously considering suicide. The
paradox of choice is prevalent among American youth, and it leads to depression and
thoughts of suicide.

Choice is a luxury that prior generations couldnt fully utilize. With so many
options of clothing, make up, shoes and jewelry, individuals can really be anyone they
want to be. A large magnitude of options such as these, give modern day youth a way to
express themselves and show off their own sense of individualism. Individualism is a vast
well of pride and positivity in the Millennial Generation. But, with all of the choices out
there, what if one makes the wrong decision? For Example, in the 60s, there were only a
few styles of jean pants out there. The cloth was rough and rigid, and only after many
washes and much wear were they somewhat comfortable. The fact that the jeans were
rough and uncomfortable was not the fault of the consumer but the fault of the
manufacturer. This negates one of personal blame because it was not the consumers fault
for picking an uncomfortable pair of jeans since there were only one or two choices of
pants. However, in the modern day, there are slim fit, high rise, low ride, boot cut, ultra

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high rise, ultra low rise, flare leg, skinny, and strait legged jeans just to name a few. All of
these choices must mean that the consumer should be able to find the perfect pair of jeans
for themselves. If they are dissatisfied with the pants they purchased, the blame falls on
them; the consumer will feel incompetent and frustrated knowing that out of the 100
available types of jeans, they could not be satisfied. This represents the paradox of
choice, because although ideally with all of the types of jeans in the store, one will find
the perfect pair. In reality we are humans and will fail to be totally satisfied with the pair
of pants. The blame will fall on the consumer and not the manufacturer. Choice can be a
great way for the youth to express their individualism, but at the same time that choice
stresses the weight of failure and discomfort onto the shoulders of the consumer versus
the shoulders of the manufacturer.

The Paradox of choice has evolved from the myriad of choices that increase
exponentially with each decade. The choices have increased in the consumer retail sector
and in the college application and high school education sector. When a lottery winner
suddenly encumbers a sporadic increase of wealth, they are opened up to more choices
because their money can by new things. It is proven through real life examples that this
increase in sudden wealth actually left one feeling more unhappy than ever. The Paradox
of choice is a more is less philosophy. More money meant less happiness in the case of
Ms. Vivian Nicholson. The Paradox of Choice leads to depression and dissatisfaction
because no matter how hard one trys, there will always be the thought in the back of
ones mind: Is there something better?

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