Supportive Parents and Peers Can Reduce Materialism in Teens - Polidicks

[QUOTE=DarkWolf2;34770981]Yeah- no. It's just as much about 24/7 advertisements about products [B]YOU NEED RIGHT NOW AND MUST BUY TO BE HAPPIER[/B], modern standards like "everyone should have a cellphone", and the social culture in school which ties in with point one.[/QUOTE] Everyone SHOULD have a cellphone. I'd never let my fucking kid go out without a cellphone or means to contact them, hell no.

whats wrong with materialism? i see it as a good thing

material possessions and physical comfort are more important than spirituality i say. for the poorest people in the world what good does spirituality do when they have problems eating or surviving?

[QUOTE=dragon926;34779505]whats wrong with materialism? i see it as a good thing[/QUOTE] My little brother owns every special edition xbox 360. from the Halo Reach one, to the Gears of war one. They all sit, stacked in the order he bought them, in his cupboard, unused. he also has a draw full of old smartphones, becuase he and his little group of friends buy the latest thing, simply becuase its the latest thing, not becuase they actully want or need it. in my opinion this is a stupid waste of money.

[QUOTE=thisispain;34779577]material possessions and physical comfort are more important than spirituality i say. for the poorest people in the world what good does spirituality do when they have problems eating or surviving?[/QUOTE] theres the implication that the people theyre referring to arent struggling to live financially. obviously for someone who is poor, money for food and basic necessities is the highest priority. highly likely theyre looking at middle class teens. [quote]Along with co-author Deborah Roedder John of the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, Chaplin studied 12- to 18-year-olds[/quote] something tells me they werent studying people from the poorest parts of africa

yes, but i don't see how we can decry materialism when the economic system is based on it. if people stopped being materialistic our economy would crash and we'd be right back to being poor and thus materialistic again.

that indicates a problem with the economy not people

[QUOTE=Pace.;34779979]that indicates a problem with the economy not people[/QUOTE] a problem with an economic system made by people. see we as humans in general might not do well with people being extremely materialistic, but the people who profit and do well from this economic system do. it seems we wanna blame parents or childeren, but even though these parents and childeren die out, the same system survives.

[QUOTE=thisispain;34780010]a problem with an economic system made by people. see we as humans in general might not do well with people being extremely materialistic, but the people who profit and do well from this economic system do. it seems we wanna blame parents or childeren, but even though these parents and childeren die out, the same system survives.[/QUOTE] its somewhat expected that parents would pass on their mentality to children, even if only to a small degree. [quote] which reduces their need to focus on expensive material goods as a substitute for self-worth.[/quote] pretty much the most important part of the article. even if xboxes, ipods etc werent around, people lacking emotional stability normally found in the comfort of family and friends are going to look for it elsewhere, doesnt have to be in material goods. so yeah the greed of certain people has definitely contributed to the problem, but essentially its a psychological issue so parents pay an enormous part in it.

ITT: Getting materialism and secularism confused.

Although I do think this makes sense, I also think parents should be careful not to be TOO supportive and accepting. From personal experience, this has made me feel less proud and motivated to achieve my goals since it feels less like I'm doing my goals to please myself rather than to please my parents.

Makes sense, I've always had a pretty damn good relationship with my parents and I simply never have understood this whole brand-worth culture. [editline]20th February 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Simski;34783174]Although I do think this makes sense, I also think parents should be careful not to be TOO supportive and accepting. From personal experience, this has made me feel less proud and motivated to achieve my goals since it feels less like I'm doing my goals to please myself rather than to please my parents.[/QUOTE] Oh agreed, there is definitely a balance that has to be struck.

[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;34770823]I think you don't completely understand what Materialism means.[/QUOTE] do tell [editline]20th February 2012[/editline] no wait just saw the name of the poster lmao nvm dont bother

The best way is to tell them to get a job if they want more than X, Y and Z they have to earn themselves. Cuts a lot of the materialistic junk out

If materialism was rid of from the society, there would still be racism, nationalism and other beautiful family values to dispose of.

[QUOTE=DarkWolf2;34770981]Yeah- no. It's just as much about 24/7 advertisements about products [B]YOU NEED RIGHT NOW AND MUST BUY TO BE HAPPIER[/B], modern standards like "everyone should have a cellphone", and the social culture in school which ties in with point one.[/QUOTE] Heh, cellphones ARE important. It's not a good thing to push people to consider them the #1 way to have social contacts but it's still a very important and very useful tool of communication.

[QUOTE=Ganerumo;34790517]Heh, cellphones ARE important. It's not a good thing to push people to consider them the #1 way to have social contacts but it's still a very important and very useful tool of communication.[/QUOTE]Indeed, hence why I have an old dumbphone. It can call and sms.

[QUOTE=AceOfDivine;34790597]Indeed, hence why I have an old dumbphone. It can call and sms.[/QUOTE] Heh, good enough. I change phones very rarely, so I guess I can afford buying a more expensive smartphone that I will take care of. I have an iPhone 3GS, which I got for half the normal price (wouldn't have bought it if it was full price), and I'm fairly satisfied with it as I'm using most of its functionalities on a regular basis. My previous phone was a very basic call and sms phone as well. Had an iPod Touch that my father wanted, so I figured out I might as well kill two birds with one stone and offer him the iPod while buying myself a new phone/iPod combination.