Guilt Farming: A counterpoint to Seth Godin’s post about the gift card scam
by Pace on December 18th, 2007 @ 4:18 pm in
Ethical Entrepreneurs
Seth Godin wrote about the gift card scam:
Along the way, we bought the story that giving someone a hundred dollar bill as a gift (“go buy what you want”) is callous, insensitive, a crass shortcut. Buying them a $100 Best Buy card, on the other hand, is thoughtful. Even if they spend $92 and have to waste the rest.
I see Seth’s point, but I want to make a counterpoint. If someone gave me a hundred dollar bill as a present, I might feel guilty if I spent it on something other than bills, food, or savings, depending on how my family’s finances were doing at the time. Yes, there is a hidden cost to gift cards, but Seth neglects to mention the benefit — the benefit of no guilt.
That said, I admit that the fact that guilt farming is an $8,000,000,000 industry says sad things about the emotional state of this society. It kind of reminds me of modern-day indulgences. If we could just let go of our shame about money, then Seth’s idea would be a strict win. Just give cash instead of a gift card, maybe add a little note saying “Please spend this on unnecessary frivolity, and enjoy!” and trust the recipient to be a big boy or a big girl.
So let’s work on this. Let’s help break down the social stigma around money, the social stigma that gives the guilt farmers their power over us. Let’s be open, honest, and unashamed about money. Let’s tell the story that giving money as a gift is nothing to be ashamed of, and that spending gifted money is nothing to feel guilty about. I like that story a lot better. (:
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4 Comments!
#2 Posted by The Usual Error Blog » Blog Archive » Guilt Farming: A counterpoint to Seth Godin’s post about the gift card scam on January 16th, 2008 10:06 am | link
[...] just wrote a post over on Connection Paradigm about how gift cards are a scam that takes advantage of our shame and [...]
#3 Posted by 
Sohaib Athar on January 20th, 2008 4:22 am | link
Seth’s ‘discovery’ is funny to me as this is exactly what we (Muslims living in Pakistan and India) have been doing for centuries at Eid – kids and the lower income class people (like maids and sweepers) usually receive money as a gift (Eidi) from relatives and employers, and donations to the homeless/orphans on Eid day (called Zakat) is a religious obligation.
In third-world countries, this makes a lot of sense as the parents pressed for cash can use the cash on their kids’ welfare with dignity, while the well-off families can blow it away on whatever they want.
#4 Posted by Connection Paradigm » Guilt Farming: A counterpoint to Seth Godin’s post about the gift card scam on August 11th, 2008 6:08 pm | link
[...] just wrote a post over on Connection Paradigm about how gift cards are a scam that takes advantage of our shame and [...]
#1 Posted by
Megan M. on December 18th, 2007 6:10 pm | link
Oh!! How interesting! Conversely, I have sometimes felt guilt if I do NOT spend gift money on my bills… and in some cases would actually feel really blessed or relieved if someone handed me $100 and said, do whatever you want with this, even if it pays bills — leaving the responsibility of making sure I get enough relaxation and frivolity entirely to me, whenever I choose to do so. Is a free, bill-paying $100 any less a gift than a free, frivolity-ensuring $100?
At the same time, this is only a sometimes feeling, and it happens rather less often these days than it used to. It’s awesome to see it from both sides, though. This is a great post!
PS – I am all on board the guilt-free train, man — sign me up!