Yes, we can.

Advertisements and media are responsible for our "consumer crazy culture". Advertisements influence us to do crazy things like buy things we don't actually need. They convince us what we have isn't good enough, cool enough, or new enough. They say what we have is all wrong, but it can be made right if we just buy. Well as Bob Edwards once said, "'They say' is the biggest liar in Canada or any other country". In a "consumer crazy culture" we are wasting away at our planet. We buy things we don't need and throw away things that are perfectly new and in good condition; more trash negatively affects our planet.

I admit that I'm a buyer of brand name materials, but I don't think I'm as bad as others who immediately crave something after seeing an advertisement. Sure I own an iPod, have Breyers ice cream tucked away in my refridgerator, and wear things from Abercrombie and Fitch, but does that mean I'm contributing to our "consumer crazy culture"? Sure it does, we all are. Advertisements aren't the only force that's pushing adolescence to buy more. Even though we might not realize it, our friends are accountable for a big part of our consuming. When we're around our friends we begin to like the same things our friends like, and therefore we buy the same kind of things our friends buy. When our friends are wearing the coolest fashions or sporting the latest accessory we feel the need to buy the same thing. Sometimes I can't buy the same thing everyone else already has. In a way it makes me feel more unique and stronger because I didn't fall for the same stupid materialistic thing all my friends have bought, but then on the other side it's embarrassing to be wearing something out-of-date or using something old. Although it may seem impossible in a world full of shopping maniacs, but fitting in without owning brand name materials is possible. All you need a non-judgemental group of friends who don't care what you wear or buy. Having a unique style can be frowned upon occasionally, but if you make it work you can convince people that your cheap non-brand name style is as cool as their pricy brand name style.

Over the past few days as I look out for advertisements I realized something crazy. We must go through hundreds of advertisements per day. I saw them in magazines, on TV, heard them on the radio, and I even witnessed them at school. Without realizing it we see at least 15% of advertisements at school. The people walking down the hallway have t-shirts saying AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS and jeans with the Rock and Republic sign on the pockets. I see French Connection jackets, True Religion jeans, Nike shoes, sony Ericsson phones, and iPods. Our school is full of free advertising for companies. I understand why companies target teenagers; it's because we don't even realize we're being brainwashed half the time. It's harsh to say, but I do believe we're malleable and unable to think for ourselves. We need to become strong independant people; we wouldn't need all that material junk to make us feel like we belong. Can't we just accept each other for who we are, not what we are? Yes, we can. It all starts here and now. Can we, the youth, buy less materialistic things? Yes, we can. We don't need things, we just want things. From now on I've made a resolution to buy less materialistic things and save for not only myself, but for the environment too. Can we put an end to this materialistic "consumer crazy culture"? Yes, we can.