Why are we so attached to our things? - Christian Jarrett 

I like how the person took the moon home in the bucket.

I'm attached to my money but I don't think the feeling is mutual

Hot damn the audio quality on this is so satisfying.

I don't think books will ever die. There's something about actually holding it than looking at just the words that's more satisfying. Besides, as an added bonus, books are easy on the eyes, so if your eyes are hurting from too much electronics, you can go read a book of your choice instead.

The things you own end up owning you. -- Tyler Durden

Mine. My own. My precious.

I think, philosophically, that everything we own is part of our lives, which mean that losing it mean that we are losing part of ourselves.

"The root of suffering is attachment." - Buddha

i love physical books, it's so much more satisfying to slowly read through a thick book and then add it to my library

1:15. I'm not disagreeing. But just thought that strange. I would personally put more value in the mug than a bar of chocolate. My reason is that the mug would have more perceived "permanence" where as the chocolate is only temporary and common. A mug, no matter how bland and boring it may be is something you can keep. A chocolate, you will have to consume or throw away eventually at a sooner rate than a mug. So to me, it would have been better to get the mug than a chocolate.

I have had a blanket since I was a baby. I'm 15 now and I still have it and sleep with it.

The closing scene of the girl taking away the bucket of water thinking it contains the Moon may be a reference to an ancient Asian fable, at least it's what my memory recalls.

I'm attached to my things because I spent time finding it, buying it & hoping to keep it for a very long time. I invested in it so thus, it's MINE!!!

There is nothing like reading a real book, touch it, smell it. No technology will rob me of this pleasure! :D

I'm so attached to my laptop because it's SO DAMN EXPENSIVE

if my name is alex, wouldn't that mean the things in both basket belong to me? :)

Very insightful, I myself have a slight hording problem and have always wondered why i get so attached to things that I've had for a few minutes or why I hate to get rid of things that I haven't touched in years.

Whenever I think of a future of books that are just digital screens, I get the shivers

The smell when you turn a books pages... 😍

Hmm, could this same affect happen in relationships? Maybe this is why a breakup is so hard for most people.

I love this guys voice.

i was born with siblings where we had to share everything, and we had to move apartments often, while an ex of mine was single child and lived in the same home her entire life. I dont want to say she was materialistic but she did take much value to objects, and was stingy with her money. It pissed me off a lot of the times, this video allowed me to understand why though.

This is the best youtube channel ever!! I love it!!

Can relate😅 Whenever I was going to clean stuff I always have a second thought because I believe that it contains memories💓

When I was younger (and I still have it) I had a soft toy of the robot from the Pixar film WALL.E. I would have odd dreams where I discovered I had a copy of it and I got very confused about which one I was supposed to keep even when I woke up.

That's why this whole Marie Kondo craze has been so helpful for me. I imbue my belongings with such importance, it's hard to throw anything away. At least being able to thank it for its time with me makes it easier.

I love physical books because of those "signature" aromas of both new and old books Mmmmm I love the scents

Imagine: we spent most of our tool-using evolution in the wood/stone age; you find and shape a stick for digging, or find and chip a stone for cutting. This is _not_ easy, or quick. Swapping for another item means that you're taking a risk; you _know_ how good the thing you already have is because you've tested it.

I've always understood since I was little how meaningless it is to hang on to every little thing like a lot of people do. I'm the opposite of a hoarder, I throw away or give away every thing I don't use for a year or so. I get freaked out by the thought of having a lot of things and sometimes will look for things to get rid of. I grew up mennonite and I think that's the reason why I understood this from so early on. My family had only material things we needed and used, there was no storage of material things at all. I had almost no toys as a kid and because of that I was outside making things like forts, digging holes and climbing trees. My point is that when I seen kids that had a lot of toys, I noticed that it caused them stress from protecting them and yelling at other kids not to touch them. Of course I did wish I had some of the toys they had but I was never less happy than they were I deep down I knew that.

that marylyn monroe joke .... got me all cracked up

I personally think that the reason we are attached to our belongings is because we subconsciously link them with a precious or valuable memory that we have. For example; someone you love dearly gave you an item and you began to treasure it knowing that the person who gave it to you thought about you when picking out this certain item. PS: Nice vid:) very educational and easy to understand

I’m deeply attached to my blanket on my bed. I love that thing so much and I hate when people wash it. Idk why I depend on it so much but I need it. I would literally cry if something happened to it.

I don't believe I have been given an answer on WHY we think stuff that belongs to us is special.. just that we do.

I loved my dog the day I got her, you dont know how much I love her!

Narrator, your voice is incredibly soothing. Everytime I have trouble sleeping, I go to a TED-Ed marathon and just listen till I fall asleep lol.

I've observed an interesting version of this when shopping. My friend and I would go to a home decorating store, and each pick up, say, a lamp. We'd debate if we should get it. Then she'd put hers down to find the best looking one of that model on the shelf, whereas I would want to keep "mine" because it was the one I picked up! I was already attached to it and hadn't even bought it yet. But her attachment didn't form until she was at the checkout stand basically. I always wondered why we both consistently reacted that way.

iPhone users lack this as they'd happily exchange their phones for a newer version, even if it has 1/2 upgrades added to it.

This TED animation is one of my favorites! Nostalgic yet warm. ❤️😊

Great animations, sweet and genuine. Very much enjoyed this video.

I was about 3 and I painted a picture which looked like a kite. I got up in the night to see it which felt so good. I'm nostalgic and stay this way as it makes me so happy like nothing else can.

I've always had trouble sleeping, (and I still have) so my mom bought an eye mask from a dollar store when I was about 6. It was pink and had the words 'Queen Beautiful' on it and I hated it, but I grew attached to it. I never slept without it. When I was about 11, I lost it and dropped everything to find it. When I couldn't, I cried every night for a month and a half. I still miss it to this day.

Love on its side has much to do with this narcissistic sense of ownership. As we love, we like to feel that the person we love is our own. In some cases in a sick way that we might hurt ourselves or the others. It is really magnificent how human beings are created ... 🌼

Big thank you to Avi Ofer who animated this beautifully made short film

I love finishing a book and bringing it to one of our Little Library kiosks in the neighborhood. Nothing better than sharing a book.

I’m still very attached to my Pokémon card collection that I had from when I was 12. It’s not the monetary value as to why I hold onto them (I never had a 1st edition based Charizard), but because of the nostalgic memories they bring back.

I love the art style. Please make more of this!

I have rebought my childhood toys on ebay..... I have them all around me in my bedroom. This gives me good memories, I feel calm with them. Keeps me emotionally stable after all that life has thrown at me.....very comforting. Anything that I don't have an emotional attachment to then I could give it away. I might sleep in a toy shop but it's a happy friendly one...... age 55yrs from Wales In Britain.👋

I have the unique experience of selling my home, downsizing and realizing that I can't take everything with me. It hurt me unbearably to part with things.....that I remembered who I was with when I bought them, some of them, I had deep memories with. I kept the most precious family momentoes....and let go of the things that were mostly just my own. With all the changes, I cried the most...over losing my treasures.

my favourite part was the last bit where the girl "keeps the moon" as her own.

I'm actually quite possessive of digital music. There are some songs that I downloaded when I was 8th grade that I need to replace for better quality versions....but I don't want to replace them because those are the ones I downloaded in 8th grad :/

i remember giving away my first warriors book to someone to read. The someone was my great aunt’s friend who I think died. The warriors books were and still are a big part of my life and I’m sad that i no longer have that book, it symbolizes a series that i love dearly. i remember my uncle taking me and my sister to a used book store, and I found that book. It was worn but when i read it, it was truly magical. I’m starting to get back into the series now. But I do hope that the book is in a young person’s hand, reading and feeling the magic that i did when i read it first :)

It holds a special place in my heart.😔

IN FRANCE we had a great poet called Alphonse De La Martine who wrotes in one of those poeme: “Objets inanimés, avez-vous donc une âme qui s’attache à notre âme et la force d’aimer ?” :D who can be trnaslate in my bad english: "Inanimate objects, do you have a soul that clings to our soul and strength to love?"

Sometimes I find a weird stick or rock outside and then I keep it for a few minutes and now I have an bond with that stone and feel bad throwing it away BUT IT‘S A S T O N E

This is me. I attached emotionally to things i own. I keep a lot of things from my childhood, keep magazine, casette, handphone box, cloth i dont wear anymore, and so many things in my room. Until i came across konmari and minimalism. Now, things i own are reduced a lot and i really think a lot before i buy things. I donate cloth, book, throw away many things that i've had before. I feel more comfortable now, it clear my mind.

Im still missing my home I moved away from. It brings tears when I even see a picture of it..

this is exactly my problem. am i alone or someone else here also has it?

This animation is incredible, its makes you take a learning perspective towards things that may sound scary at the outset. You have to accept you have a problem before you can change it. I too struggle with endowment effect and I'll put efforts to re-wire my reward system so that I can have more of an egalitarian perspective.

I love the way your videos are viewed from presentation and voice acting

I have this thing where I despise the mere inkling of a thought that someone is going to take something that is mine away from me but i have no problem giving something away, even if i just had a huge fight over it not being taken .

2:18 This is my tricycle, there are many like it, but this one is mine, without my tricycle, I am nothing, without me, my tricycle is nothing

As for books, there is a difference: they are solid objects you can touch, hear, smell. Many are beautifully illustrated or artistically bound. Some have handwritten signatures (which we just saw adds to their perceived value). And, if the power or batteries get down, you can read them anyway. You only need a working eye and some light. That's why books persist.

Having watched this, I had to add it to a playlist and can't imagine deleting it.

That last scene was quite precious ☺️

I've worked so hard and given of myself to attain what I have.

This is exactly why books, CDs, and DVDs are always going to be around. I would also like to add that objects can hold memory. A lot of my favorite plushes hold positive memories of the people who gave them to me or the games I used to play with the plush when I was little. It's easier to remember some people and places when I hold an object associated with them. I'm more likely to give away a plush that was given to me by somebody whose relationship with me changed in a negative way, like a family member who I found out was toxic because there are bad memories associated with it.

I love these videos .. full of knowledge , nice animation and wonderful narration plus they end the video on such a sweet note . Love you Ted : )

maybe that's why first loves are so intensely remembered

I'm so attach to my things. I remember when I was at school I keep my papers with high grades or signed by my favorite friend and keep it and it is still in my past bag and I don't want to touch it anymore because I felt like it's for the past forever and the present me shouldn't touch it anymore but see it instead.

I like the animation. The art.

i really love ur videos they are so professionally designed to reach viewers without any second opinions about same topics

This is definitely a fascinating one! Great animation too!

if you eat the chocolate, you don't own anything but the wrapper. i guess we keep the wrapper.

great video as always! very useful and informant. the art also, was so cute :3

2022 now. but this video still bright

Very interesting video! What I also find fascinating is that I don't feel we have the same sense of attachment to items in cyberspace, e.g. audiobooks or ebooks vs paper books. Food for thought!

I love these.... they should do one on what is anxiety and anxiety disorders. people need to know its not just in your mind its all scientific too

I sometimes find myself yearning for the things I once owned many years ago like a long lost friend - if only we could meet once again, I think. My dream would be to take one more ride through the back roads on my brand new 250 cc Yamaha Enduro trail bike with the wind against my face. It would be like a dream come true. It was a birthday gift from my parents in 79. I was fifteen. They sold it in 86 - not long after I moved out. I often wonder where its final resting place came to be after all these years. It's amazing how an inanimate object can mean so much to us and stay forever in our hearts. It's crazy - I know! 😢

It's not the object, but the memories and nostalgia attached to it

This was beautiful, thank you Ted ed

this was a really good one

Wow that is so interesting!!! Your explaining is so good!!! Keep teaching us!!! 😄

Because it gives us a sense of being someone. You aren’t what you own you are what you do.

I just needed this again...when I am decluttering

the animation of this video was hilarious! thank you TED-ed

4:10 This animation is amazing

The animation on this video was amazing!

Beautifully done!

I'm attached to all of my things but I also have bpd. Personally, I see my objects (and pets) as things that will never leave me or hurt me like people do, so I become a lot more attached to them than I do other humans.

I am very protective of all my stuff....And i don't like anyone to take even my old clothes (that do not fit) or anything that i own..... I need help...

so many good points in this video I was I knew for my previous video! also you killed the editing on this video. It was very pleasing

Felt so good to hear my homeland Tanzania 🇹🇿

"Be content with little." "Detachment consists in refraining from letting our possessions possess us." ~ Baha'i Faith

2:41 FABULOUS!

The best channel to learning english! Olá do Brasil!

Ive continued repeatedly watching this video all day. Reexamining notions of mineness.

This doesn't apply to Stingy, he wants everything that's either his or not.

I love the work of *Avi Ofer*! 😚👌

I love his voice!

The last scene in which the girl tried capturing the moon through its reflection in water was wonderfully and wisely crafted👏😄