A need to buy
I hold a pessimistic
view of today’s youth, because they over-value materialism. Adolescents are
compelled to be materialistic at any cost and construct their ego based on
their belongings. The two reasons listed above are why I do not hold a positive
view point on modern day youth.
The first reason I feel pessimistic is because
today’s youth are materialistic at any cost. Adolescents are told by society that
accumulating wealth should be one’s biggest priority. The High Price of
Materialism, by Tim Kasser states “Young adults report that financial success
is relatively central to their aspirations, high stress, low well being, and difficulties
adjusting to life are also evident.”(Kasser 9).
Portions of today’s Westernized youth are ready to indulge in self-sacrifice
in order to obtain material success. A common example of youths self
sacrificial behavior are their purchasing decision. A Piper Jeffery study
determined that youth spend almost 50 of their income to enhance their
wardrobe. Something is fundamentally
wrong with society especially because adolescents are ready to neglect their
well being for superficiality.
Why do
adolescent feel so driven to build their self-esteem through material objects?
Marketing and advertising have shaped our society using their enormous financial
resources. According to Business Insider, L’Oreal beauty products spend more
than a billion dollars in yearly advertisement fees. We are lead to believe
“buying makes you happy”. Youth
therefore decide to inflate their ego based on consumption. Adolescents now tend
to be highly critical and keen to judge others based on their clothing. Youth are pressured to engage in materialism in order to fulfill their ego and to feel
accepted. According to Allen Kanner, a child psychologist, “By the time
children reach their teens…they’ve been taught that material possessions are
all that matters”. Young adults will continue to display vanity if marketing
and advertising continue to be highly omnipresent.
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| A Prada bag |
Works Cited
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-35-companies-that-spent-1-billion-on-ads-in-2011-2012-11?op=1
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