One day, I was in a McDonald’s around 4 p.m. after school. I was in a queue while there was a group of young schoolgirls in front of me, queuing up to get their food. While I was waiting, I overheard their conversation. The girls were discussing a particular boy one of them fancied at their school. One of the girls asked the other girl why she wouldn’t give him a chance. The girl to who this question was addressed answered, “He’s nice, but he’s got no money. I need someone with money.” These girls, I would say, were no more than 12 years old. I was so shocked at the response; I couldn’t believe it. Young children are now making judgments about relationships not based on a person’s personality but on their financial status! That is worrying! Hearing this conversation made me think how would the actual boy she was talking about react if he heard this. What do you think this would have motivated him to do? What would his next steps be? What would that have done to his confidence? Telling a 12-year-old boy, “I don’t like you because you don’t make enough money,” is disturbing because at that age, how could you possibly be earning legal money?
So now the young boy’s confidence has been crushed, he has to look for ways to make money so that this does not happen again in the future. The young girl’s thinking encourages the boy to commit crimes. That’s how easy it can be.
More and more young people are thinking like this. It is dangerous because it is only going to push them into a life of crime. There is nothing wrong with being ambitious at a young age, but money shouldn’t be a motivator for liking a person.
As a society, we not only need to invest in showing young people the real consequences of crime but we also need to encourage them to follow alternative careers by pointing them in the right direction. Young people need to see someone familiar, from the same background, area, and age group, making positive choices so they can relate and make better life decisions.
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