Does anyone believe that today's teens are too high maintenance and spoiled and that brand name clothing and technology is the cause of it?

Answer 1

What an excellent question! I don't blame the teens as much as I blame the parents. There have always been fads out there for decades to attract the teens, but it is much, much worse today. Marketers know where the money is ... teens! They also know that teens put pressure on their parents and with most families that have two parents working the parents are more apt to give in. The parents are nailed by ads directed at teenagers re clothing, "a got to have" attitude by many teens. Girls as young as 7 and 8 are now trying to look like Britney Spears. HUH? What's wrong with these parents? Have parents not learned to form the word "no" on their lips? When school starts here in British Columbia, Canada you can see teens whirling around the "in" shops in the malls and have either mommy's or daddy's credit card! To me that's like giving raw meat to a tiger! I was in a high end teen store this past September and a father was standing there like he'd been hit by a cattle prod while his daughter stood beside him with several tops, jeans, skirts, etc., and he got the bill for $560! He looked at me and said, "Oh boy!" I said, "Why?" He misunderstood my question and started to explain, but I asked him why he did it and just didn't get her a few of those clothes and went to other less expensive stores for the rest. He just shrugged his shoulders. Unfortunately, the marketing business makes billions of dollars and they know by putting the pressure on the teens they in turn put the pressure on mom and pop. If the parents are smart they would say, "Here's money for average clothes and if you want the designer clothes go work for it!" I had a girlfriend that did that and her kids did go out and work for the extra money. This also goes for computer games, etc. Movie theaters cater to the teens, but the Baby Boomers are coming up hot and heavy and they'll be a lot more of them than teens so marketing is going to have to change drastically (it is already.) The "New Age" is here to stay with Holistic medicines, Aroma Therapy, spas, plastic surgery and Retreats. Teens get pressure too. If they don't have the right clothes they don't fit in and they feel more pressure. Their peers are sure to put the pressure on them. The British Columbia, Canada government is trying to bring in a law where kids wear standard clothing (possibly uniforms) and many of us adults say "yeah to that!" I think uniforms are a bit too strict, but they can send home memos to the parents that the boys wear T-shirts (no popular brands) in black or white with jeans and the girls can wear tops (no popular brands, no belly buttons showing, jeans or a skirt that is suitable for school, not to mention no excess make-up!) After all one goes to school to learn and not make a statement. You bet teens are high maintenance and many are spoiled. They have so much they are basically bored! Too much is geared into children and actually falling back into the 50s style of rearing children isn't such a bad idea. Some kids today get what they want and when they get out into the real world and realize it doesn't work that way they have all sorts of problems. Some kids think the world owes them a living and they should start at the top of the company and that flipping burgers while going to school is a sin. There is a smaller percentage of teens that actually do go out and work part-time and their parents can't afford the designer clothes and it will be these kids that are more well adjusted when they get out into the working world.