Consumerism rules: It’s visible in creams, dreams and vanity mirrors

livemint.com:

India’s growing consumption economy hides a worry: the changing dynamics of parenting in conflict with how the attitudes and behaviours of younger generations are shaped. Indian parents are in uncharted territory, with children online and inundated with consumerist ideals. This shift not only threatens parenting as we know it, but also makes it harder to foster healthy developmental pathways for the next generation.

So, for a nation that boasts of its ‘demographic dividend’ as a strength, how much consumption is good for us? A generational contrast is evident from our changing notions of creams, dreams and vanity mirrors. Today’s parental generation, mostly born in the 1970s and 1980s, has weathered an era of scarcity, and lived with contentment in the face of constraints imposed by limited resources and means. Subconsciously, they imbibed a circular-economy ethos, with thriftiness and sustainability their daily norms.

But in their current role as parents, many are affluent and inclined to give their children lives of abundance and opportunities. Yet, this well-intentioned affluence seems to perpetuate a culture of excess, making it a challenge to inculcate values of moderation and gratitude in today’s youth. Anita vividly recalls her childhood in the 1980s, growing up in small-town Uttar Pradesh.

Money was tight and her parents worked tirelessly to make ends meet. Resources were scarce, but love and laughter filled their modest home. Now she finds herself in an entirely different world as a wealthy parent in Delhi.

Anita wants to provide her children with opportunities she never had. But all she feels is a missing sense of gratitude that she expects her children to have for easy wish-fulfilment. She worries about a