• OhNoMoreLemmy@lemmy.ml
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    4 days ago

    This is a very American thing.

    Measuring popularity in terms of money spent.

    By this metric, spending time with loved ones or going for a short walk has zero popularity.

    • mycodesucks@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Spoiler: This is how GDP works too. Didn’t make any money? It’s not considered real work. EVERYTHING in the US serves capital - not people.

      • mushroommunk@lemmy.today
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        4 days ago

        Not really. The time to money ratio is so different for all of them and there’s no way to compare.

        I spend $20 and go to the movies and that’s it. I’m there for 2 hours no more money spent.

        I spend $20 on sports betting and ten minutes later I can do it again and ten minutes later I can do it again and again and again. I know people who drop hundreds every weekend on it. I literally can not spend enough time in a theater to drop the same amount of money.

        • Bluescluestoothpaste@sh.itjust.works
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          4 days ago

          Well that’s a different question, which one is more dangerous to personal finance or something like that, but in terms of macro economics what matters is dollars spent. Depends what question you’re trying to ask, yes I think corporations should be categorically banned from touching anything relating to gambling because as you alluded to, it’s one of the most destructive “recreational” activities.