Millenials In The New Millenium

The Sad Reality Of The “Echo Boomers”
By Marisol Vargas

It is amazing to think that the “echo boomers” have already become be the must studied generation in history. And there is no wonder why this is happening - they spend $170 billion a year of their parent’s money, and some of their own as well. Everyone in the corporate industry is trying to get a piece of this money, all the ads aim for the “echo boomers”, and for that reason the most targeted commercial audience are the kids within this generation.

These children are seen spending their money everywhere; they are at the mall, at the movie theaters, clothing stores, and the video stores. Not to mention that the kind of clothing and accessories they like to buy are usually the most-famous-for-the-moment name brands, which regularly have a much higher cost than any other item in the store.

These children have been programmed since they can remember. They were thoughtfully taken care of at all times. Something was always left at their sides to entertain them whether it was a toy or a pet. Parents were at all times looking for something for their children to do with their free time such as baseball classes right after school. These kids are not forced into doing anything at home; they have no responsibilities, no duties, no drives, and no goals.

Children are more into video games than ever. They spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars monthly on video games, music and movies. They take their parents money, and rather than sitting at home and reading a book, they spend their entire afternoons chatting on the internet, downloading music, or playing video games. Ten years ago, only adults would have a cell phone, they would use it in case of emergencies or to make calls that would take up no more than two minutes.

Now, whether they need it or not, it seems as if every child as young as age 7, has a cell phone. The constant text messaging among schoolmates, and the long minute calls between each other is costing parents a considerable amount of money on monthly bills.

Technology now, is not aiming for adults anymore. It seems as if every ad on television, radio, or traditional billboard is aimed toward children. Almost every child has a computer at home. The majority of children also have a DVD player and a television in their own room. They own I-pods, portable DVD players, PSPs, gameboys, anything in the market, they own it. And sadly, these children are not the ones to blamed.

Since we are in an era where the culture is looking down on kids, and kids are being celebrated, parents confuse this celebration with making nothing of their children. Parents feel that by buying their children everything there is at the store, and by giving them what they want in order to not hear them cry, they are doing the right thing.

Children need to be taught that they have to work in life in order to get what they want. Parents need to let their children know that the real life is not as easy as they think it is, and should advise their children to have a desire to be the best at what they do, and to be more than just part of a team.

A few years ago, children would still be punished for not having a good report card or for bringing home a failing test grade. Now, parents are not using the same technique and give their children what they want, even if they do not deserve it. Many of these parents work long hours daily, they hardly spend anytime at home with their kids, and they feel that a way of making up this time lost with their children, is by showering them with gifts that will surely make them smile. This is no way to compensate the time lost, and eventually, these kids will never feel they have enough.

Children who start their first job expecting to be rewarded immediately and to become heroes for the simple fact that they are working should no be judged so harshly. When your parents raise you in a world where everything you do deserves recompense and nothing you do is wrong, it becomes very hard for the child to learn there is a real world, and that in this real world you have to work very hard to be worthy of what you get.