Media Credit: HANNAH MILSTEIN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Selena Chan works on her laptop and listens to music yesterday in the Cathedral of Learning. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: MATT GLOTH/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Sophomores Andrew Lully and Brandon Cummings review their NCAA brackets yesterday in the comfort of their own home. [Click to enlarge]

Their reign over young people has been dubbed an iTatorship by those who refuse to give in to the ever-growing trend. Others were once followers but cut off all ties when they realized the evil a small object could possess.

Approximately 88 million other iPod owners around the United States, however, disagree.

"I use my iPod shuffle and computer almost constantly," Steve Klabnik, a junior, said. "Same for my cell phone - I couldn't live without any of them."

iPods are just one of many high-priced electronics that young people are dying to get their hands on. The new products that pop up on the market every day may have turned the stereotypical "poor college student" into the "poor college student with electronics."

In a generation where plasma TVs, digital cameras and MP3 players assault our eyes and ears daily, it seems natural that students form an attachment to them. Experts, however, attribute skyrocketing electronics purchases to issues of social comparison and "keeping up with the Joneses."

Despite students' motives, electronic purchases certainly take a toll on wallets - leaving many in debt, some pressured to work and others counting down the days until Christmas.

College students spent nearly $10.5 billion on electronic items during the 2006 back-to-school season, according to the National Retail Foundation Back-to-College Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey. This was an impressive 27.5 percent increase from the year before.

Klabnik, a computer science major, refers to his electronics collection as "indispensable," and estimates that he spends at least 20 to 30 hours a week using his computer, cell phone and iPod.

"I never run out of things to look at on the Internet," he said, citing YouTube as a Web site that provides "endless hours of entertainment."

To finance these endless hours of entertainment, Klabnik works 30 hours a week on top of school to pay for all of his expenses, which include rent, bills and food - and he still considers himself broke most of the time.

"I love technology too much to not work as much as I do," he said.

Klabnik currently has his eye on the iPhone, the newest Apple product on the market, which combines a wide-screen iPod, phone and Internet access. The iPhone runs between $500 and $600, which may seem beyond a typical student's budget.

"Young people are more prone to try new things," Jeffrey Inman, Pitt marketing professor, said of new gadgets such as the iPhone.

Purchasing electronic items is perfectly natural when a student has separate budgets for entertainment and necessities, Inman said.

"The problem becomes when you use up your entertainment budget and move into your necessity budget," he said, adding that spending from one large budget can lead to problems, too.

A vital aspect of budgeting is using self-control, Inman said, and not categorizing luxury items as necessities.

"The iPod itself is only $300, but then songs are $1 each on iTunes," he said. "There's no end in sight as to what you can spend on iTunes."

When a person begins foregoing necessities and rationalizing these types of purchases, they are at risk of falling behind financially, often times into credit card debt.

The cost of buying and maintaining electronics adds up pretty fast. According to prices at Radio Shack, MP3 players cost between $40 and $350. T.V. sets range from about $30 to almost $2,500.
Other popular electronic items include satellite radio, digital cameras, DVD players and home theater systems. Along with these high-tech purchases, a buyer also needs batteries, memory cards, adapters, power cords, as well as games and DVDs. Additional items can wind up costing a consumer hundreds of extra dollars.

Along with trying new things, studies suggest that young people give in to social pressures more than older people do, Matthew Monin, of the psychology department at Pitt, said.

"For some people, how they are perceived socially is as important as being able to pay for rent," Monin added.

A person who does not own popular electronic items, according to Monin, engages in upward social comparison, where one compares himself with his peers, creating a personal feeling of inferiority.

"If many members of a group of friends have an Xbox 360, and much of their time spent together is spent talking about different games and playing these games, purchasing an Xbox 360 can make other members feel as if they are more a part of the group," he said of the game console that costs about $400.

Feeling like a valued member of a group can be important to an individual's self esteem, Monin added.

If taken to extremes, these thoughts can be harmful to students who forego necessities for the newest trends in electronics. In other situations, upward social comparison provides motivation for self-improvement.

To sophomore Mike Bradburn, a laptop and desktop computer both play a large part in his happiness as well as entertainment - all at the price of working. Laptop computers range from about $600 to over $2,000 at Radio Shack.

Adam Wick, a junior, uses many of his electronic devices to keep in touch with friends and family. He uses the Web cam iSights, along with his computers, to interact with loved ones hundreds of miles away.

Students also deem electronics necessary when they sit down to do homework.

"One electronic device that I cannot live without is my TI-89 Titanium calculator," Wick said of his most prized piece. "This calculator is practically a hand-sized computer."

Wick is also regularly entertained by a high-definition TV, a surround sound system, iPod, digital camera, cell phone, flash drive and Playstation 2. All together, these items were once worth about $7,000.

Large electronic assortments like Wick's can be seen not just in off-campus houses, but also on the streets of Oakland and even inside the classroom.

From downloadable class lectures to a largely wireless campus, Pitt seems to keep up with technology almost as much as the students do.

Two girls walk side by side down Fifth Avenue, making conversation while simultaneously tuning into their iPods and text messaging at their leisure. Students sit silently in Hillman Library, turning away from their books every few minutes to check for instant messages on their laptops, text message friends and skip to new songs on their MP3 players.

While technology is becoming more necessary for classroom use, it can also serve as a distraction, both welcome and unwelcome.

"I check Facebook.com 10 times a day, text people constantly and play games on the Internet to the point where I don't get homework done," Klabnik said, noting that the Internet and handheld gadgets are becoming more necessary for students every day.

Marketers and industry analysts have tapped into the college market in recent years, creating online "must have" lists for college-bound students. Companies like Sears, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Circuit City have all created specialty pages on their Web sites displaying of-the-moment electronics.

Circuit City's "Top 10" list for college-bound students includes a PC with a lock and speakers, Ethernet cable, wireless phone, MP3 player, television and digital camera. If someone religiously followed this list, they would be down about $2,000.

College students themselves have become savvier in picking out new electronics, often browsing Web sites like eBay and shopping at stores that offer student discounts, such as Apple.

While many students expressed that their electronics bring them convenience and happiness, most stood by the fact that they don't buy them for acceptance purposes.

"I don't care who has what," Klabnik said. "I just know what I want."

Nevertheless, electronics continue to become more and more intricate by the day, daring consumers to keep up.

Klabnik recalled an instance when his mom was concerned where the two would meet in an airport, neglecting that both of them were armed with cell phones. Technologies that young people take for granted, like cell phones, are sometimes completely overlooked by our parents, Klabnik said.

"I think our generation is forever changed by technology," he added.

Article Tools