Gold Collared Generation Analysis

My parents always wanted to give their children the life they never had. I am Mexican-American, both of my parents immigrated from Mexico to the U.S. before I was born. I have numerous relatives, including my older sister, who do not have the same opportunities I have to achieve success because they are undocumented. For them, college was only a dream that could never be attained. Being the first U.S. citizen out of my entire family affected the way I thought about life. It was expected that I would attend college because I was the only one who had access to all the resources granted to American citizens. Although, I agreed with my family, the pressure to succeed and be a role model to my younger siblings was overwhelming.

Being a first generation college student is a heavy load to carry due to the constant reminder of having to be a good role model for my siblings. Children of immigrants are often highly expected to excel in their academics and to be involved in extracurricular activities. His/her parent immigrated to the “Land of The Free” in order to receive a better life and to give their children a place to call home. They work from one to two jobs a week just so that we can dig through the pantry, and raid the refrigerator. We sometimes take our parents for granted unknowingly, and constantly fill our heads with a question that we all seem to ask. “How do I please my parents?”, “What do I have to do to make them happy?”. As students we should all be voicing “College!”. Yes, maybe our folks’s dreams have faded away, however that should be our motivation to aim higher; to achieve our American Dream. Throughout our years of education, our very own relatives and teachers have emphasized on the importance of receiving a higher education. I have come to realize that I should not be asking myself “How do I please my parents?”. Instead, “How do I please myself?”, “What will my lifetime goals be?”, “Will it leave my parents hard work in vain?”. Obtaining a higher education will not impact their lives, but will affect yours drastically. My American Dream has always been to become an immigration lawyer that deals with international relations or to become a professor teaching my true passion for

Many people believe that we need to have our children competing to be the best of the best when they are young. Therefore, giving them a head start on a great future. In Rose he says, “Students will float to the mark you set.” (Rose 154) This means that if we set the mark at college, there are kids that will compete to be the best out of their class and will strive to become the most successful. Although we do not realize this, but by setting that mark it is giving the slackers something to aim for even though they never seem to compete for anything. This means that by having an environment that is willing to push even the slackers in school shows that they to can have something to compete for in the future. The environment of students plays an important role in helping students compete to become better. We tend to see better scores from students in private schools rather than students in public schools, this is because students are pushed harder in private schools and are competing to be the best because they know that if they start to fall behind they will be left in the dust. These students become the slackers. Problems start to form when the parents of the slackers start to shelter them and say that competing is not that important. Young adults are smart and they see this as an opportunity to use their parents. When reading Katherine S. Newman, “The Accordion Family: Boomerang Kids, Anxious Parents, and the Private Toll of Global Competition” we find it interesting when she brings up the topic on how “Adult children are migrating home or refraining from leaving in the first place, and there they stay for many years longer.” (Newman 91) With this being said we can right away notice that there is no motivation to become better or to even compete in the work for to be able to be living on their

America is known for giving opportunities for those who seek them. Every year, many immigrants come to this country looking for an opportunity to better their lives. For many, it is a struggle to find these opportunities. They are being exposed to a new culture, a new language, and a new mentality. Some immigrants catch a break and go to work right away. But it is not always so easy. Many of the immigrants who come to America are young people who accompany their families on this odyssey. They are too young to work and their only option is to continue school. There is a huge barrier facing them, being and undocumented student means having almost no financial help from the government, and also having no benefits. There is also the fear of being deported while being a student. It would be devastating to enroll in school just to be deported a short time after. These issues have been mitigated for many undocumented students due to the Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors act, simply known as the DREAM Act.

To start, this shift towards a shared economy is giving Millennials a bad reputation. Instead of focusing on their spending habits, Huffington Post blogger, Tim Urban, targets the work ethics of the younger generations in his article, “Why Generation Y Yuppies Are Unhappy.” In fact, Urban believes that younger generations were too spoiled in their childhood, so by the time adulthood hit they were destined to be failures. In addition to

These days we are surrounded by the latest technology: smartphones, hybrid automobiles, and robots that clean your floors. Companies are constantly finding ways to capture your attention; to keep upgrading and spending endless amounts of money on items that you don’t need. In “Honestly–You Shouldn’t Have” by Anna Quindlen, the reoccurring theme of materialisticness is mentioned and is applied to every American, starting from the Industrial Revolution up until now. In reality, having these upgraded objects and over expensive clothing represent how socially insecure they are. They simply cannot live looking poor or old fashioned, they need to show others that they are not bottom feeders. People see what they have and know there is a better model

Responsibility Shrugged Stay sharp, they are everywhere: pre-adults who shrug the responsibilities of having a family or furthering their career. They spend longer on getting degrees, if they go to college at all, and have no real role in society. They are stuck in a “novel sort of limbo” (477) between adolescence and full-fledged adulthood. This was not always the case, however.

The ethnography The Myth of the Age of Entitlement: Millennials, Austerity, and Hope by James Cairns, discuss the myth of entitlement about millennials (or Generation Y) in a political, economic and social perspective in the North American context. Cairns, debunks the idea that “young people expect everything to be handed to them without having to work for it” (Cairns, 133). There is a misconception that millennials do not work hard, are lazy, are addicted to praise, have a lack of respect to authority and are more entitled than any previous generation. When in reality they have to work harder due to the loss of entitlements compared to previous working generations. For instance, when Sedef got her dream internship at CMI she was grateful to

At this point, especially for immigrant families, it is a common goal to be attending school. These immigrant parents were not seen as being competent enough to educate their children, and schools would train them to become civilized

In his essay from The Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Arnett discusses various myths attributed to young adulthood while providing evidence to refute them. Three primary myths appearing throughout literature on emerging adults include a lower mental well-being, overall selfishness and a refusal to grow up. Several parallels exist between Arnett’s observations and my own experiences in emerging adulthood, providing further proof of the falsehood of such myths. Common myths claim emerging adults experience detriment in their overall well-being.

From IPhones to new cars to discounted food, advertisements and the desire for the newest or cheapest items surround humans every day. Socially we are held responsible to not only “keep up with the Joneses” anymore, but also the Kardashians, Gates, and Walton families. Today’s society has proven that the desire to have the newest items for the most affordable prices stands more important than our true happiness. Joseph Turow provides in his article, The Daily You: How the New Advertising Industry Is Defining Your Identity and Worth, which the advertising industry has greatly affected your consumption habits and the prices you look for. James A. Roberts grows on that idea, in that with the help of these advertising firms, you continue to run

Consumerism has always played a critical role in my life. As a child, an endless series of elementary school fads introduced this debilitating desire to have. From a young age it was obvious that one’s status is very closely correlated with what they own and the desire to fit in engendered a sense of competition in my elementary psyche. Yet, a year ago when I began working at Walgreens I started to question the ideas with which I had been indoctrinated. But at first, my job seemed a simple rite of passage and my chance to prove I could evolve into a working, dependent citizen.

Ever wonder why when it comes time to apply to colleges, hundreds of emails from that one small college in Minnesota fills your inbox but the Ivy League schools only have to send one? It’s most likely due to the fact that you are already familiar with the Princetons and the Harvards of the university world. Receiving an estimated 34,295 applications for the class of 2018, those types of schools already have an esteemed brand. In fact, a more visible and established brand could mean more prestige and more applications for admission (Love 2). Studies show that brands can “provide an easy way for youth to compensate for their feelings of anxiety by acting as a substitute for value” (Tokuhama 34). Basically, having or being a part of a “brand” gives people a sense of belonging and can even instill a certain sense of confidence. For example, the “right” label for something can advice prestige and esteem upon teens, warding off any self-doubt (Tokuhama 34-5). Just as having the “right” designer handbag, shoes or wristwatch can elevate a young person’s sense of self-worth, albeit false, to a whole new level, a “designer university” has the same effect. Much of the time, college applicants feel so much more accomplished when they receive admission into a school with a 20 percent acceptance rate, opposed to a ninety. Apparently, universities with prestigious titles just so happen to be marketing to the perfect crowd. As a matter of fact, for many students aspiring to go to elite schools, a college acceptance there can give someone a particular type of status. But failure to achieve this goal, especially at the fragile age of 18, can represent an extremely large disappointment (Tokuhama 35). Living in a culture dominated by labels, the idea of a “brand” has become an important factor for decision-making, especially when it comes to picking a university to attend. So much so that studies show the

Companies have found effective ways to promote advertisements in order to target specific age groups into buying products that aren’t needed. When I was sixteen years old was able to spend my own money because I had gotten a youth job in my community. I worked after school for three hours with children. My first paycheck I decided to buy myself a pair of Jordan brand tennis shoes. The cost of the shoes was $150.00 plus sales, which had left me with ten dollar from my pay check. Jordan’s gave a higher social status in school that I wanted because I’ve never owned a pair before. I finally had the feeling of fitting in with my peers, so only having ten dollar didn’t faze me. Now that I’ve gotten older shoes aren’t that important as they were in high school. I don’t feel that I would spend that much on a product because of the logo that’s attached to the item. I now buy an item based on the quality, since I’m raising a child I want to instill in her name-brands shouldn’t control your identity. According to Douglas Rushkoff in “A Brand by Any Other Name” brand-names have a way to target customers by advertising their products to make a person feel that they’ll have acceptance if wearing their logo (pg. 384).Companies are aiming towards the values of their consumers because marketers are finding the newest trends that convince the consumers having their logo will give them acceptance within others and themselves.

Youth consumers’ rising demands for contemporary labels are hard to miss. Nowadays, contemporary labels receive a high level of attention when it comes to the Generation Y. As contemporary labels consumers make very distinct purchase decision in this product domain that they differ from the respective mass-market consumers. They are subconsciously also forming a sort of consumer behavior that was known in society as conspicuous consumption. By linking conspicuous consumption with contemporary labels, this essay will investigate the relationship between the two elements and how did it equate together in this marketing environment. Examples of contemporary labels that China’s youth consumers like to conduct conspicuous consumption includes brands like Alexander Wang that has been successful in addressing the need for minimalism that references athleticism in its appearance (Walker, 2011:178). The rationale behind formulating this essay is aimed to define the contemporary labels and the concept of conspicuous consumption that is currently widespread and on going in China after its modernization and the rise of the “super-rich”. Furthermore, it will serve as an investigation to the extent which purchasing contemporary labels represent a form of conspicuous consumption. Consumers actively seeking products that differ from mainstream and companies regard this consumer behavior as an opportunity beyond saturated mass market.