"Money on My Mind"

Today, I think what a lot of teens mostly care about is money. They apply for jobs in order to work to make money on their own so that they won’t be a burden to their parents. Also, to be able to buy whatever they want for their own happiness. This leads me to think that today, money is very important to us youth. This was somewhat the same in the 60s for the Baby Boomers, as well.
In other words, I think that money is equally important today as it was back in the 60s, but for different purposes.
The generation of today, called Millennial Generation or Generation Y, is surrounded by technology, which leads to, of course, social media. We’re so easily influenced by advertisements that are being shown all around us that every new gadget that’s about to release, we’re going to want to buy it. I guess the reason for this is that new technology leads to new advantages that make life easier. And when life is easy, everyone’s happy. This is not the case all of the time though.

Social Media Influence

The generation of the 60s, the Baby Boomers, were not, however, surrounded by technology and social media. Taking an example from the novel Just Kids by Patti Smith, in which she tells her story and experiences during the 60s, money was important but not always for happiness. It was more as a mode of survival and when she earned enough, she used it to buy whatever she desired. Of course, that was just the story of Patti Smith, but it may have been the same for many teens during that generation.
This brings me to materialism.
I think that materialism differs in both generations.
Today, I find that most teens possess a lot of stuff, like gadgets, but don’t value them as much as how Baby Boomers used to value their stuff, like art.
For example, I have some relatives that are in their early teens and expect to get the newest iPhone or PlayStation model for their birthdays and that will make them the happiest. Will those be useful in the future? I don’t think so.
In the 60s, for example with Patti Smith, she and Robert Mapplethorpe valued their art portfolios because they knew it was what they needed for their future and it was their passion. Also, there wasn’t much technology back in the day, so even just the little things would have been of big value.

In conclusion, youth of today and of the 1960s share the same importance on money but for different reasons. However, they differ in materialism. Youth of the 60s value their stuff more than the youth of today.