The Problem of Materialism in Youngsters

1) [?], young people are considered to be more materialistic than the older generation. Youngsters are spending a great deal of money on all kinds of products, but especially ‘high end’ luxury goods (Chan, 2003). Although everyone should have the right and freedom to decide how much they spend and what to buy, materialism of young people is 2) [?] acute, as many problems are caused by it. This essay will point out two issues resulting from this 3) [?] problem and suggest an 4) [?] solution.

One serious problem caused by over materialism of young people is the 5) [?] decrease in their motivation for self-learning. In the past, learning itself was often seen as a reward for students, and many took it as a precious opportunity. Recently, however, learning seems to have become a less happy 6) [?] for 7) [?] young people as they have become very materialistic and willing to learn only if there is an incentive. For instance, some students are unwilling to work hard on an assignment if it does not affect their GPA. As a result, universities seem to be producing fewer self-motivated learners who study simply for the sake and enjoyment of learning.

Additionally, the materialism of young people may also negatively affect the health of society. When people 8) [?] more materialistic, they may be more willing to spend money on their own pleasure, 9) [?] buying new I-pads, brand name clothes or computers. As a result, they may have less concern about the well-being of others and may be less willing to spend time with family members as they may obsessed with material objects rather than spending time with loved ones. 10) [?], they may also be less willing to spend time with people perceived as poorer than themelves or those who cannot afford to buy the material objects they value. The social fabric of Hong Kong may be seriously affected if this problem persists.

To solve these problems, people must insist on teaching proper values and beliefs to young people. The root cause of youngster's materialism is that the whole of society is constantly teaching 11) [?] to be materialistic. Even the education system is teaching youngsters to focus mainly on 12) [?] higher grades, rather than loving to learn for its own sake. Consequently, young people are becoming 13) [?] conditioned to be materialistic. Society needs to change its education system to ensure students are learning proper values and beliefs, which should include love for learning. It must emphasize the value of learning for itself, not only for maintaining a high GPA to 14) [?] a lucrative job, make 15) [?] money and consume expensive products.

All in all, young people have become 16) [?] materialistic and it has caused 17) [?] problems, including a decrease in motivation for self-learning which affects society's health. To solve these issues, 18) [?] should educate young with proper values and beliefs to replace their excessive material desire. 19) [?], society in the future will be 20) [?] if young people are educated in a proper. well-rounded manner, rather than being trained to score well on exams simply for material gain.

References
Chan, K. (2003) Materialism among Chinese Children in Hong Kong. International Journal of Advertising and Marketing to Children, 4 (4), pp.47-61.
Chaplin, L. N., & John, D.R. (2007) Growing up in a Material World: Age Differences in
Materialism in Children and Adolescents Journal of Consumer Research. Vol. 34, No. 4