(That's me above on the right...in like 1989...when I was going through my 'collect Bo Jackson things' phase. The stuff on the left is just a bunch of collectible stuff right next to my desk as I write this.)
So…I found an old article the other day…it was an article from the @nytimes in like 1981 titled ‘Living with collections” (And the point of the article was really to showcase how people *store* their odd collections - but there were still some gems in there). It starts out by saying that 1 out of every 3 Americans collects something. 1 out of every 3! IMO that’s fascinating…it makes me think of my family…my mom and dad collect all sorts of things…one of my kids is *really* into collecting…so I can certainly see that being true.
Check out this passage from this book I’ve been reading (‘Buyology’):
“If children experience social difficulties in school, studies have shown they’re far more likely to become preoccupied with collecting. Collecting…gives children a sense of mastery, completion, and control, while at the same time raising their self-esteem, elevating their status, and just maybe even compensating for earlier years of social difficulty.”
Mind. Blown.
I started collecting things at a VERY young age, and I don’t recall being all that stigmatized at such a young age, but I’ve collected things for as long as I can remember - I think it’s one of those things that my mom and I used to just bond over…but maybe also my way of dealing with things as an only child. If you collect something, have you ever noticed a pattern with ‘tough times’ vs. when you started collecting?