“Always no money, how to hang out with us?”; It’s sad when I walk pass groups of secondary school teenagers and have to hear this line. Kids in Singapore do not realize how fortunate they are what with the technology, money and standard of education that they get from their parents. They are the kids who are fortunate enough to get a great new piece of technology like the Digimon or new Xbox, are also the ones who always exclude people from the clique that is apparently the “popular” sort.

There have been cases whereby teenagers or even kids attempting to commit suicide or going to see the counsellors because they are socially excluded in school. It’s always the same problem, you’re never pretty enough, smart, rich, athletic. No matter what you do, perfect seems years beyond your reach. If one you don’t have one of the traits, you’re considered a loser in school.

You always see kids as young as 13 working after school or during the holidays just to upkeep their lifestyle of having branded goods and stylish clothes. When I was in school, I often saw people being excluded not only because of race, but also because of their financial status and the way they look.

Why have people become ever so superficial? It seems that the more the world develops, the more materialistic people get. Inner beauty does not count in the world where beeps from hand phones come every 5 seconds. What matters are the latest gadgets that you own and what piece of “cool thing” you are going to buy.

The problem occurs when parents pamper their children too much and pump this idea that with money you can do whatever you like or are driven by the equation money=love. That is a common problem in Singapore because parents are just too busy with work that they substitute love and concern by giving their children money and everything they lay their eyes on. It’s amazing that the more educated they become, the less knowledge they have about true love.

This sort of social exclusion that often starts in school contributes to the high rates of teenage shoplifting. It may be something cheap or something that would cost a few hundred dollars. They would do anything to continue being with the group of people who call themselves “friends”.

Teenagers especially would go to all lengths just to be accepted. I admit that I have actually felt lost and depressed when I don’t have the latest gadgets and feel like I need to constantly improve myself, but soon I realize that people who make me feel that way, aren’t my real friends.

Schools should not let youths show off what they have. It looks like what the uniform stands for does not help anymore. School used to be about achieving good grades and absorbing knowledge. But now, school is a fashion parade where you get to flaunt your latest buys to make others envy you.

I personally feel that to prevent these things from happening, the media needs to stop having television shows where the rich and pretty thrives, whereby the smart or the less talented people become losers. Shows like Laguna Beach and the OC are some examples that have made youths nowadays be so superficial.

Everyone needs to understand that it’s not humanly possible for everyone to be rich or pretty or athletic. It’s the way humans are built. They need to remember that what matters most is what is on the inside. Real friends do not exclude you because you do not have something material because friends do not look at you through what you have materially, but what you have on the inside: the heart.