Hacker News Reader

>Consider the electronic products that every middle-class teenager can now afford—iPhones, iPads, iPods and laptop computers.

No teenager can afford this. They, or their parents, go into debt for it.

And that is the problem. The ability of middle class Americans to buy what they are implored by our consumerist society to buy has fallen sharply. General unhappiness and massive amounts of personal debt used to finance knickknacks is the outcome.

View on HN

Most middle-class teenagers with even a part-time job could afford these items.

Because they live at home and are subsidized by their parents.

Just like all middle class teenagers, forever. I'm not sure what your point is.

But then where teenagers lived before? In 1960-70-80? At home with their parents. And if parents had middle class level income, their kids would spend money on "toys" same as right now.

13-15 year olds can't work in the US. And the unemployment rate for 16-19 year olds is pretty dismal. Officially it's over 25%, and I'm sure in reality it is much higher than that.

Sure, if you're one of the lucky teens who can get a job but doesn't have to rely on it to live, you could probably save up for an ipad pretty easily. On the other hand I've never met a teenager who did. Every single teen I've met with any sort of electronic device was given it as a gift by their family.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com