As the holiday season approaches, the pressure to buy “the perfect gift” is stronger than ever. The urge is fueled by social media trends, rising expectations, and a culture that cares about items worth more than just meaning or heartfelt intention.
These rising expectations build on one another, but when is it enough? Grayslake Central freshmen Alice Meyerovich and Hope Beake said that for them holiday gifts don’t necessarily need to be expensive, but instead meaningful. Meyerovich said she gets excited about anything, even if it’s small because someone put care into it. To that Beake said “if the person grew up being spoiled, they probably care about how cool it is,” but both freshmen admitted that many teens aren’t as grounded.
Social media heavily shapes what teens want for the holidays, no matter how expensive or cheap they may be, people see the items when posted and immediately want to purchase it. Meyerovich said that many posts with items feel fake and that it seems that the items are bought only for popularity.
There are many reasons why these viral, trendy items shouldn’t be bought – and it’s not just for popularity’s sake. Grayslake Central environmental science teacher Eric Hancock said that the deeper issue to holiday consumerism is a mindset that we can fix. Hancock said, “Social animals have ways of showing care for one another… gift giving is a natural part of human relationships.” The only issue he alluded to was that humans have emotional worth. “People tend to see how much money you spent as an indication of how much you care.”
Many families feel caught between cultural expectations and environmental values. “There is very little you can do as an individual to be sustainable in the United States, said Hancock, but his suggestion is to “show that you care about your impact” because “everything has to come from somewhere, and when you throw something away, ‘away’ is a place.” He is asking us to be mindful of how much we throw away and use in this world, and what we buy. If we need it, buy it. When shopping this holiday season, think to yourself – if you or the person you are purchasing for won’t think about it in five years, maybe it is not worth the environmental risk.
