Commodity fetishism isn’t lusting for a particular commodity. Commodity fetishism is the mystifying aspect of commodity production that sees laborers ceasing to recognize themselves in the product of their labor. They begin to see values as inherent properties of commodities, rather than as a product of social relations.

In other words, someone sees an iPhone 17 Pro Max and believes the value to be inherent to that product, and not based on the socially necessary labor time that went into producing it.

Buy used electronics. Something that will be genuinely be helpful to you. Or just have hobbies that involves material things like 3d printing, cars, biking, guns, etc. Obviously some are much more expensive and/or time consuming than others.

Just this other day I bought a used pixel to flash graphene on it. Been amazing so far. It genuinely provided me a security advantage in organizing while not succumbing to the caveman shiny object trap. Drool over the practical application, not the aesthetic itself.

You cannot prevent commodity fetishism that’d be like preventing money from having value.

When you notice it happening, try to take a moment to ask yourself what you’re after. For example, some people get a sense of semi-community from sharing in marketing hype for a new product. Or sometimes it’s about status; wanting to feel like you’re ahead of the curve, up to date, “with it”. Or it can be about fear of missing out (FOMO) and/or a fear of being left behind; if others around you are getting the new thing and you aren’t, it may feel like it’s harder to connect with them because you’re not sharing in the experience. Or maybe you enjoy the exploration of it; the new has new things to learn and new features to offer, and that can be interesting and engaging.

Once you have an idea of the why (or multiple why’s), you can further ask whether it’s a reason that is healthy and normal such as wanting to be a part of something (and it’s just the behavior that may be unhealthy, or kind of shallow as fulfillment). Or a reason that is unhealthy and largely cultural, such as chasing a high of playing with new features while never really being satisfied with what they are.

Whatever you find in asking yourself about it, try not to be too hard on yourself. If you live under capitalism, you’re basically pushing up against buying and selling as a religion.

That’s not commodity fetishism.

It’s when we mask the human relations (especially classes) embodied by an object (tangible or not) and prioritise the latter’s “agency” in explaining processes and phenomena.

So you’re good (well from that perspective. Shopping therapy as an ephemeral solution to alienation, however, is whole different ball game. This is a liberal answer but may help: Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations (ie stoicism))