[irjustin]

I _love_ Japanese dedication to craft; really any hyper-focused efforts, but i digress.

The problem that I have with this of course is families who cannot afford these really well made pieces of gear (touched on at the end of the article) and where children who can't afford it are ostracized because of it.

Growing up I was on meal plans due to our financial status and paying in physical tickets, made me and the others like me a small target of ridicule. Personally I don't think it was a lot, but naturally we banded together and became friends simply because we paid for lunches a particular way.

The social pressure is crazy and unnecessary and feel terrible for the kids who can't have it as well as the families who literally sacrifice for it.

[ethbr1]

In retrospect, the most ridiculous thing about kids giving each other shit about money is... they're kids.

Until they get to ~14+, they don't have any claim to having earned any of their family's wealth.

[GuB-42]

It is not about money, it is about fitting in. Kids don't care how expensive the thing is, it just has to be a certain way.

Of course, those who sell the things kids use have every incentive to make it cool to spend a lot of money. It is, btw, among the worst kind of advertising. They target kids, who can be easily manipulated, so that they, in turn, convince their parents. It is sometimes close to a hostage situation, where if parents don't get the expensive thing, their kid gets bullied.

Some people want to bring back (affordable!) school uniforms for that reason.