It seems that every adolescent these days aspire to have designer clothes, drive luxurious cars and live lives similar to the rich kids on Gossip Girls and/or The OC.[break]
College students favorite hang out spots, nowadays, seem to be around shopping centers. Even if they are not buying designer clothing or actually purchasing anything at all, they still are seen running around in their uniforms to window shop. “Though I’m not a typical ‘brand conscious’ teenager, I do go out shopping a lot and same goes for most of my girlfriends,” says 18 year-old Lisa Sherchan.
The youth of Nepal are no less when it comes to the craze for designer clothes and big cars. 19 year-old Alisha sijapati says, “I’m not a shopaholic, but when I go out with my friends they usually tend to buy branded clothes almost all the time.”
Walking into malls, buying clothes from Zara or shoes from Charles and Keith have become quite a familiar scene to live in as a teenager. Sherchan says, “Most of the time in my shopping list I do have something from Charles and Keith as I love buying bags and shoes from there.”
Even College going students now compete with themselves in order to differentiate themselves from other students, even though everyone has the same school uniform.
Shushant Tripati, a teacher, says, “I can see that college going children are becoming more materialistic every single day. Examples of this can be expensive gadgets like iPhones and iPads that they bring and flaunt in the college. Bikes have also become a compulsive need for them when coming to school, as without them, they seem to feel humiliated. On top of that they have now started a fad over cars.”
Not all teenagers are materialistic, to begin with, but majority speaks. “Overall teenagers are materialistic as it is human nature to believe that the more expensive the better. They want to be unique and gain attention with materialistic things,” says Rahaat Shrestha, 18.
Experimentation and exploration is what the youth want to do today. In their teens, they have low self-esteem because they are usually starting with virtually nothing, just themselves. The only way to build their confidence and esteem is through their possessions - clothes, toys and friends. So who they are seeing and making friends with is an important factor and crucial point.
Fashion, in particular, becomes important at this stage because they can control and manipulate it to the best effect. It is a major statement about who they are, how they see themselves and whom they wish to be.
“Children are becoming materialistic due to advancement in technology and also because they want to do what others want to do,” says Tripati.
“It is not only the children who are materialistic; Nepali society as a whole is developing and seems to have become object oriented,” says Sapana Shrestha Tamrakar
Our society is rapidly developing and purchasing of new gadgets, which will cost even more, can be forecasted in the near future. Teenagers get whatever they want, not because they themselves are rich but, their parents provide them with what they want.
No matter how much, parents buy their kids the things they want. And, if there is a concern about the cost of an item, these teens throw temper tantrums until their parents give in.
“I don’t think teenagers should always go for things that are always expensive, and be too brand conscious. Sometimes even if you buy the most expensive clothes it might just not suit your personality. It’s how you carry yourself and not the price of the clothes,” says 19 year-old Evana Manandar.
No 15-year-old “needs” a Louis Vuitton replica handbag or weekly manicures. It’s just the confidence that’s important. All you need to learn is to create your own beautiful style on a tight budget.
Money doesn’t make someone gorgeous or handsome; its style and not always money. And as far as gadgets are concerned, they frequently change and it’s useless spending so much on one thing. Being materialistic might be “in-trend” but it’s definitely not worth it.
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