Literature Review #2: "Consumption, a Modern Affliction: Branding Culture, Youth Identity and College Admission

In Consumption, a Modern Affliction: Branding Culture, Youth Identity and College Admission, Chris Tokuhama discusses the infatuation that today's youth, specifically college-aged youth, have with branding. Tokuhama brings this into perspective in his first paragraph stating, "Applel iPod has replaced the Walkman, caffeine has become the generally accepted drug of choice, and an obsession with social networking profiles has supplanted a preoccupation with business cards" (33). Tokuhama makes a connection between currently popular and well know brand items of today and those from the 1980's.

Tokuhama goes on to explain the ways in which our consumer culture affects teenagers. He states, "the current generation of students applying to college has developed in a society saturated with branding, marketing, and advertising. This environment has, in turn, allowed youth to conceptualize themselves as brands and to think of their projected images in terms of brand image" (33).

While Tokuhama doesn't make an outright comment on this particular branding being negative, it is obvious in his writing that he believes an obsession with branding has existed for some time. He writes, "although consumer culture manifests uniquely in today's youth, the oft-lamented consequences are not merely products of our time" (33).  In fact, Tokuhama addresses the fact that mainstream marketing has often been marketing to teenagers since the inception of the usage of the term.