Young people are easy victims of consumerism

We live in a consumer-oriented society, where goods and services rule our lives and often even form our values. Today, in the 21st century, consumerism is more powerful than ever.
Products and services which are largely promoted by the media affect us in many ways. However, their effect is even more powerful on the young generations.

• Additional reading: Why Dubai residents are addicted to shopping

Children born in the last couple of decades grow up in a world of commercials, advertisements, sales and discounts. Every day they are attacked by hundreds of offers and that unavoidably influences their minds on one level or another. Now, let’s examine some of the most negative effects of consumerism on the young generation.

Changing Values

The consumerist society dramatically changes the moral values of  young people. Children, and especially teens, reportedly are becoming more and more materialistic. As a result, they turn their backs on the truly important values like friendship and family. Now, a main priority for most of the young people is to wear fashionable clothes or use high-tech devices made by certain expensive brands. Moreover, they even think that if they don’t have the most popular products they, themselves, won’t be popular or successful in their society.

Insecurities and Psychological Problems

Many fashion brands prefer to advertise their product on dangerously slim bodies. What they don’t or do realize is that their strategy can have a destructive effect on young people, especially girls. According to studies, the number of teens who suffer from eating disorders has increased over the past 30 years. One of the factors who led to that is the rise of consumerism.

Consumerism can also trigger a depression in young people. Not many parents are able or are willing to spend money on expensive gadgets  clothes and other unnecessary ‘status’ items which their children want. As a result, kids can become unhappy and angry.  There are even some more extreme cases when children steal or do other things to get the desired possession.

Health Problems

One of the most advertised and popular products and services today are the least healthy ones. A good example for that are the fast food chains, who invest millions to promote their fried meals. Moreover, many of them specifically target children with kids offers and bonus toys. Therefore, it is not surprising that every year more and more young people become overweight or even obese.

• Further reading: Why parents let their children to become overweight?

Consumerism affects all of us. However, young people are its most common and helpless victim. The inability of the young to funnel the information they receive can easily change their values, make them insecure and unhappy or even cause them various health problems.