materialism in youth, noooo

someone has put together a study on how materialism develops in teens. apparently it was hard to statistically figure that what we all already knew.

The researchers found that materialistic values increased between 8-9 year olds and 12-13 year olds, but then dropped between the 12-13 age group and 16-18 age group.

In a second study, the researchers determined that self-esteem was a key factor in a child's level of materialism. Children with lower self-esteem valued possessions significantly more than children with higher self-esteem.

Moreover, the heightened materialistic values of early adolescents were directly related to "a severe drop in self-esteem that occurs around 12-13 years of age." By using a test that primed high self-esteem among the children, the researchers wrote that they "reversed the large drop in self-esteem experienced by early adolescents, thereby reducing the steep rise in materialism among this group."

the conclusion was to say that there should be a ban on advertising to this age (not sure how that happens) due to the influence over their statistically low self-esteem. for a more comprehensive read i would suggest "branded" by katherine turpin as a good read.