Social
status and material possessions often determine the extent of individual
success in modern society. Traditional values including integrity and
generosity no longer seem to matter. I strongly opine that social status and material possession
became very significant factors to shape our view of success in life. This
essay will discuss prevalent materialism instilled through the current media as
well as benefits which social status provides.
Firstly,
the social media based on the webs or broadcast stations has heavily affected
the prevalence in materialism among the public. Celebrities show the flashy
lifestyle through social networking websites. Extravagant items and luxurious
goods often seem to display their successful life to the public. This has built
the overall conception of individual success in modern times. For example, it
is commonly seen that after a celebrity shows up wearing a certain designer bag,
a great number of followers start buying the same brand new bag and everyone
admires those with expensive goods.
Secondly,
elevated social status of individuals has numerous benefits. For instance, it has been frequently reported
how politicians, who are typically considered 'high social status' misused
their power to manipulate others. This, therefore, shows a strong relation to
current negative trend that elevated social status is viewed as the extent of success.
To
conclude, it seems clear that social status and materialism are two strong
determinants to judge the success in life rather than old-fashioned values such
as honors or trust. I strongly agree that this negative trend is prevalent in
modern society due to the content of the media and benefits shown from high
level of social status in daily life.