People don't like to be called materialistic because they feel that this accuses them of loving only material things and of having no religious values. But why is it that acquiring and maintaining a large number of material possessions still of great importance to most people?
It's called consumerism and unfortunately so many people fall "victim" to it in Western nations... you can tell someone suffers from AFFLUENZA if they would rather buy a second or third pair of unneeded shoes (because they already got a pair or two), instead of give that money to a good cause for charity... even if they say, "I'm not materialistic", they clearly are. Now the REASON why people love this crap is most likely because the media glorifies material objects... exotic cars, jewelry, designer clothes, etc... thus why it is an "importance" to people, these fancy things are a "status symbol" unfortunately... some guys get respect from younger kids simply because they drive a "Ferrari" and I used to be like that when I was younger too, I used to love exotic cars, but why would I give my respect to someone who had one? I have no idea, obviously today I don't... I can't stand greedy people, and don't get me wrong, nothing is wrong about wanting the finer things in life, but something is wrong if you put it above life and nature. Anyway, same goes for girls too. A lot try to "impress" other girls with more expensive sunglasses, shoes and purses.