Six o'clock on Black Friday morning. A mad dash for the best deals. A fight over a big-ticket item. Security guards call for calm. No one listens.

The weekend after Thanksgiving in the US marks the start of Christmas shopping. Consumers go in search of bargains. And it's not just stateside. By the end of today, known as Cyber Monday, shoppers in the UK will have spent £8.74bn.¹

But the cost of living crisis means fewer goods will be bought this year. Money expert Martin Lewis wants to "ban unnecessary Christmas presents".²

In a viral video, he says people are buying "gifts for others that they know they won't use with money they don't have, causing stress they don't need".

The problem, says expert Philip Hancock, is Christmas and gift-giving have always been "entwined".³ Even the pre-Christian winter festivals were about the exchange of presents. During the Industrial RevolutionA period of sudden, rapid industrialisation that transforms a country from an agricultural to an industrial economy., the new middle classes embraced Christmas as a time to spend and share wealth.

The anthropologistSomeone who studies human beings and societies. The word "anthropology" comes from the Greek "anthropos", meaning "human". It developed as a subject in Europe in the 19th century, although some regard the Arab historian Ibn Khaldun as the first anthropologist. Claude Levi-Strauss wrote that gifts are the "spirit of community life".⁴ Giving and receiving binds a society together.

According to expert Nelson Blackley, it is also a "vital boost" to the economy.⁵ Seasonal spending creates jobs and supports business.

But not everyone agrees. The economist Joel Waldfogel argues that present-giving is wasteful.⁶ Only the recipient knows what will make them happy. In the UK, £733m is spent on unwanted Christmas gifts for children, which could be invested in their future.⁷

But Black Friday is not about the future. Marketing creates "a sense of urgency", says psychologist Jo Perkins.⁸ We make snap decisions to get the "perfect" present. These "quick fixes" set us up for disappointment.

Some say this "overconsumption" is harming society and the environment. Instead of Black Friday, they honour Buy Nothing Day, a "24-hour detoxA period of time in which someone stops taking unhealthy substances or foods. from consumerismSociety's obsession with acquiring consumer goods.".⁹

Yes: Consumerism creates desires for things we do not need and often cannot afford. Instead of worrying about what stuff our friends and family might want, we can give them something invaluable: our time.

No: Gift-giving is messy and stressful and imperfect, but it is a fundamental part of human relationships. Exchanging presents is an ancient tradition that binds people together into communities.

Or... You cannot ban it, even if you want to. People will always find presents to exchange. But we can think more carefully about what and how we swap presents, for the sake of each other and the planet.