One important reason we like collecting things is because it’s fun. No matter what else is going on in your life, from difficult relationships to unsatisfying jobs, if you’re a collector, you can set yourself clearly defined, obtainable goals.
You can enjoy the ‘hunt’ as you search for the next item on your wishlist, then feel the thrill of adding it to your collection, which you can showcase to others.
In fact, the social side of collecting is key to its appeal. Collectors often form communities and share knowledge or compete with each other, which can foster a strong sense of belonging.
Of course, the internet has made it easier for these kinds of communities to thrive. Collecting can also be an expression of other forms of belonging.
Just think of the football fan who collects match programmes or other memorabilia as an extension of their affiliation to a particular team.
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Other collectors are motivated by nostalgia, whether collective or more personal. For instance, people who collect particular items from the past are often driven by the notion that they’re preserving aspects of bygone eras – think of the person collecting antique guns or Victorian postcards.
Additionally, each item in their collection might contain a multitude of personal memories, such as from the trip where it was first acquired.
Other psychologists argue for even deeper psychological motives behind collecting – they say the collection can act as compensation for a lack of loving human relationships; or that it can be a way that some people cope with existential anxieties (the collection lives on even after the collector has gone).
You might be wondering whether collecting is the same as hoarding; it’s not.
Hoarding tends to be uncontrolled, problematic and indiscriminate and it’s recognised as a psychiatric disorder. Collecting, by contrast, involves careful and deliberate curation.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Terence Wilkins, via email) 'Why do we like collecting things?'
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