PBS's MONEY BANDAID

     PBS’s “Making Cents out of Teens: Merchants of Cool”, discusses why brands pursue the teenage population and how teens obtain and spend money on those brands.  Today, teens hold the majority in the world's population, making them one of the biggest targets for brands.  Brands sell new things everyday to this huge group of consumers, a group not yet old enough to hold an income that can provide for all of their spending.  PBS thinks the only way teenagers have this money is they are given it, out of guilt or annoyance.  They believe that parents who can not be apart of their child's life enough feel guilty for not being there, then look toward money to “make-up” for their absence.  Money given out of annoyance is happy money, money given to a child to keep them content.  Instead of having to deal with your child's emotions you buy them a purse or the newest soccer cleats to keep them smiling. Money is a bandaid in the eyes of PBS.
     I have definitely been given money for at least one of these reasons. Every time my dad can't make one volleyball games he gives me $20 and tells me to go buy whatever I want after I play. Before watching PBS’s documentary I never would have thought my dad was giving me money out of guilt. Though I have never experienced being given happy money I know some of my friends have. They will come to school and tell me that they had a bad day so their mom gave them money to get their nails done after school. Though some teenagers earn their money, I do believe a majority of their spendings are handed to them by their parents.