Are you serious? (Uh-oh, it's a rant!)

So I was cruising through the flyers looking for coupons (kidding), and came across this. This kid has got to be no more than what, 8? 9? Is the phone really necessary? I suppose the real question is something different. Consumerism is being pushed down the throats of younger and younger people. Kids need computers (or phones) to download mp3's onto, gaming consoles to play on (the upcoming Playstation will cost more than $1000), iTunes, camera phones, the list goes on. A few days ago I saw a kid that was no more than 11 with his mom (buying a new 20+inch eMac) wearing $160 shoes. It's a chicken or the egg thing. Is it the corporations (I use the term loosely) pushing parents into buying their kids every new gadget, or is it the sucker of a parent that is allowing the corporations to capitalize on the opportunity to sell overpriced junk to kids? I'd say they're cooperating. Whatever. It doesn't matter much. It's happening, and it really annoys me. Ok, so you're filthy rich. It's just a pair of shoes to you. Your kid likes them and price doesn't matter much. Well, it should matter. Parents who regularly sell... I mean, shell out to their kids are creating monsters. It's my guess that this kid didn't have to work too hard to get them. I'd bet, too, that nine times out of ten the dad is a "metrosexual" or some equally ridiculous cliche, and/or the mom is, well I don't know - Myra isn't home to fill me in on whatever the up-to-date way of life is for women. This whole generation is growing up on a steady diet of "you need this if your life is to have any meaning", which isn't anything really new, but it just seems so much more blatant now. Is there a limit to this? I bet credit card companies will find a way to offer "low interest" cards to minors. Something like that is bound to be just over the horizon. Oh right, you can already set your kid up with their own credit card on your account. Get 'em while they're young, I guess.

I promise the next post will be a happy one.