The Associated Press reports that contrary to popular belief, teens today are not the frivolous spenders we've made them out to be. Apparently, rather than falling for the pitfalls of brand loyalty and flexing on their peers, kids are conscious of their spending and regularly opt to look at discount stores like Marshall's for deals.
Of course, this research comes timed with back to school shopping, easily one of the most insane shopping periods outside of Black Friday. It also falls in line with the fact that growing children regularly need new clothes and the school year is the perfect time to restock on them. But, apparently, the kids are turning into responsible human beings as 39% of them say they are reusing clothes compared to just 26% of them between 2011 and the beginning of 2015. They're basically shopping like their parents. The teens that AP followed around as they shopped exhibited legitimately responsible decisions like delaying their purchase of a pair of jeans they didn't need right away. They even mentioned the influence that Instagram has had on their own personal style evolution, which is absolutely fucking terrifying to me, but actually makes sense when you think about it.
When I was younger, I was not responsible about, well, anything. All my part-time job money went toward terrible clothes like Diesel jeans, Express Men polos and graphic tees, with whatever left over dropped on fast food. I'm sure today's teens are not only making wiser clothing purchases, but also spending their food money on shit like green juice or kale. Honestly, it makes me sick.
