Comments on: Attention Versus Value

By: Shannon Ehlers

Shannon Ehlers — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 05:59:18 +0000

Re: the picture, it’s unfortunate that we can’t see the full tramp stamp, because I think she coordinated it with her jean pocket designs. Now that’s what I call being “put together” about your wardrobe!

By: Britt

Britt — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 17:15:00 +0000

@Dave: Wow. What a great addition to the discussion. I’ve found it ironic (if that’s even the right word) to see how many teenagers expressing their individuality end up looking alike. For all the talk of “it’s my choice,” a desire to fit in, even if it’s now with tattoos and body piercings instead of a particular clothing brand, still carries weight in the end, driving more personal choices that people might care to admit.

@Joe: Your comment on what drives body art is interesting, especially in the context on wanting to exert control over something. I propose that today’s teenagers and 20-somethings have been raised to believe they have no control, in the sense that their lives are fated to be a certain way (usually rich and famous). It’s the perfect example of rejecting responsibility for one’s actions, because in this mindset, one has no outward control over life. Then, when something doesn’t go right, it can’t possibly be their fault because they had no control, the ultimate alibi.

By: Joe T.

Joe T. — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 06:35:05 +0000

Britt: when has substance ever had the upper hand over getting attention in America? I daresay not in our lifetimes.

The photo you posted simply bespeaks the mindless conformism (I use that word rather than “conformity”; conformity is a behavior; conformism is an ideology, conscious or unconscious) which infects America is breathtaking.

Go to Europe and you’ll see that the vast majority of the youth (outside of England) are emphatically NOT enamored of tattooing their bodies willy-nilly. OK, you might see the occasional young person with the occasional tattoo, but it’s shockingly less ubiquitous than here.

My theory about America’s recent love affair with body art is that it has origins in the powerlessness that most Americans feel about their lives. When you feel, at root, powerless, you unconsciously want to exert control over whatever small piece of turf you can call indisputably “yours”; hence tattooing the body, which proves to everyone that you can control something.

The “show off my muffin-tops” phenomenon is another story, but related. It also goes back to conformism. When the need to mimic other people’s dress becomes so powerful that one does so while totally disregarding the fact that at a tender age, one’s body has gone to pot, then yes, we Americans have crossed the proverbial Rubicon of shamelessness. There is no turning back.

By: Dave Seah

Dave Seah — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 04:59:00 +0000

Interesting insight! The thought that came to mind is that our culture these days so embraces the expression of both individuality and cultural allegiances that it has mistaken this for a value. With youth, it often seems that the expression of choice is their greatest entitlement. It certainly is the most accessible and is the most easily defended: “it’s my choice”. However, it’s a surface allegiance, and carries no underlying substance. Clothing fashions fall in this category, except when it actually represents an allegiance to a principle of living. These are more tangible values, but since they are all signaled by surface appearances they are lost in the crowd.

By: Britt

Britt — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 19:16:19 +0000

@t h rive: ditto on the teenage male’s choice of attire. And I’m in agreement that I wish companies would draw attention to certain things. It seems like they highlight stuff with little value, while trying to capture your eye with the flash that lacks substance.

By: t h rive

t h rive — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 18:02:52 +0000

NICE. The muffin top, I’m so glad to hear that it has a name.

I share roughly the same sentiments when it comes to the way the younglings dress. I’m 25, but may sound 40 when I say that I hate it when male teens dress like pimps/coke dealers – and even choose to use that dress code when traveling, airports that is…

And you make a good point with companies being able to see (or not) similar detail in their existence…”I propose that we’re seeing a shift to chasing attention over substance”…that’s well said, and something I’d like to address eventually in my blog/line of work. There are some things though, that I wish companies would draw attention to, when clearly they don’t. Maybe the younger generation will be the ones to make that choice…and I hope we can make it a good one!

I’ll be back…