Youth and the Culture of Materialism
Youth and the Culture of Materialism
We live in a materialistic society. Take a trip to your local shopping center, watch television for a few minutes, or check out a magazine stand at a corner convenience store, and this fact will become quite evident. Our society places significance on what you own—not who you are. This reality prevails in most areas of our social fabric, but it is, without a doubt, most apparent in the mainstream media. The culture of materialism conspicuously presents itself on television shows, in magazines, in movies, and especially, in music videos. The influence of the mainstream media reverberates most with young people, who are generally more impressionable than persons of any other demographic group are. It is, therefore, conceivable that the media informs the values of many of our youth today.
Recent research suggests that young people of today are much more materialistic than their counterparts of the past were. All too common, among black youth, there is a palpable materialistic obsession the roots of which anyone can trace back to a popular music video—be it a new designer label or a new blackberry phone. Among many young people, the sense of self-worth is contingent on their possession of the aforementioned material objects. Such is the extent of influence that the media often has on young minds. It is very easy for a young person to become impressed by the constant exposure to the glorification of material belongings.
The mainstream media is incessant in its parade of materialistic conceits. Young people are constantly being told that they need to have those designer jeans or that new must-have cell phone model in order to gain the respect of their peers. Whether it is a music video or a reality show, the materialistic culture prevails. It is, then, little wonder that many of them tend to view the world through a materialistic paradigm.
Many problems may arise and often do when young people embrace this culture of
We live in a materialistic society. Take a trip to your local shopping center, watch television for a few minutes, or check out a magazine stand at a corner convenience store, and this fact will become quite evident. Our society places significance on what you own—not who you are. This reality prevails in most areas of our social fabric, but it is, without a doubt, most apparent in the mainstream media. The culture of materialism conspicuously presents itself on television shows, in magazines, in movies, and especially, in music videos. The influence of the mainstream media reverberates most with young people, who are generally more impressionable than persons of any other demographic group are. It is, therefore, conceivable that the media informs the values of many of our youth today.
Recent research suggests that young people of today are much more materialistic than their counterparts of the past were. All too common, among black youth, there is a palpable materialistic obsession the roots of which anyone can trace back to a popular music video—be it a new designer label or a new blackberry phone. Among many young people, the sense of self-worth is contingent on their possession of the aforementioned material objects. Such is the extent of influence that the media often has on young minds. It is very easy for a young person to become impressed by the constant exposure to the glorification of material belongings.
The mainstream media is incessant in its parade of materialistic conceits. Young people are constantly being told that they need to have those designer jeans or that new must-have cell phone model in order to gain the respect of their peers. Whether it is a music video or a reality show, the materialistic culture prevails. It is, then, little wonder that many of them tend to view the world through a materialistic paradigm.
Many problems may arise and often do when young people embrace this culture of