[quote name='SaraAB']I find that the "cool" stuff starts around age 8, when a kid turns 8 there is this automatic pressure to own an Ipod (or other similar device) just because you NEED this device to be with the in crowd and to be considered cool, and to have friends. If you do not have this item, then you will be automatically considered an outcast, and that consideration will follow you throughout your grade school at least up until grade 8, thus making your life miserable.
It started with the ipod with my cousin, she now has a Nintendo DS lite (pink of course) thinks pokemon is uncool and for little kids, yet she wants to play games like "bratz" and "hamsterz", and when you ask her what games she wants she will ask for the games based on nintendo properties, anything but pokemon though, because pokemon is for babies and little kids. Really ironic...
From where I see it its all about fitting in, being called cool, and having friends. This starts at age 8+, you do what your friends do, you watch what shows your friends watch on tv, you buy the same games that your friends buy, you wear the same overpriced brand name clothing that your friends wear. In other words you have to be exactly like your peers in order to survive in the school system. Deviate a bit from that, and you will have no friends, and that stigma will follow you throughout your whole grade school life.
Nowadays if you have a kid that wants to take a different path and does not care about being exactly like their friends and liking the exact same things that their friends do just so they can fit in be very very thankful and support that notion, as these types of kids are exceedingly rare nowadays.[/QUOTE]
Wow... Maybe I'm lucky then with my daughter. She's 10 and I haven't seen any of the stuff you talk about above. She has been less interested in games the last year or two, but some of that is due to her two younger brothers being obsessed with them and her wanting to be different/get away from them
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About the only thing she recently insisted on doing was joining a soccer team because her best friend was on it. And she also conviced said best friend to get a DS, though I haven't seen either of them playing with them (my kids' one is kept in my office and it has barely been touched recently). She did pester me for about a day or two to get her the Tamagotchi Corner Shop game because her friend had it. I said I'd get it like I get all other games - when it is available dirt cheap
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. She hasn't mentioned it in a few months now so that craving has passed (but I'll still snag it for her if I ever see it cheap).
She has a cheap-ass MP3 player I got for her at Black Friday in 2005 (an ugly little Sandisk model). But she only uses that in our car and doesn't take it to school.
Anyways, I've seen very little of the peer pressure/conforming stuff out of her. That's why I assumed it started later. But maybe I'm just lucky.