Affluenza – What does it really mean?

Affluenza is formed by the combination of affluence and infleunza. This is a modern day term that is used to refer to the actions that are influenced due to the affluence or unrestricted/uncontrolled access to wealth and power which can turn out to be dangerous to the person and his surrounding.

The book Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic defines it as “a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more”

So why is Affluenza being made a big deal now?

Ethan Couch. He is a 16-year-old rich boy who killed four people drunk driving and managed to keep himself out of any jail-time as his lawyers used ‘affluenza’ to wriggle him out of the law’s net.

You can read more about Ethan Couch’s court case here.