#value

Today I was scrolling through Facebook, as I usually do, and I came across a post from an old friend. When I looked at the post it had seventeen comments. What the post was about really upset me, but not for the reason it upset everyone else.

The post was about an eight year old girl who was getting bullied by some “friends.” My friend, the mom, who seems very upset by the situation posted, “why do 3rd graders have to be so mean.” Her kid doesn’t want to go to school and the teachers aren’t doing anything about the situation.

The comments included telling the mom to stick it out and to encourage her kid to just forget about the group of bullies. There were also comments encouraging violence or threatening others. Adults were encouraging violence among third grade girls. To me this is a problem but you’re probably wondering what the girl is being bullied for.

Well, the bullying is about smart watches. The bullies have real fit bits and because the other girl has an “off brand” she isn’t cool and needs to be made fun of. While the adults encouraging violence or threatening bothers me the idea that third graders would make fun of someone for their watch infuriates me. Our culture is so obsessed with possessions and appearing wealthy that third grade kids are making fun of each other for the brand of watch they own.

A teacher also commented on my friends post and told about how her class made fun of her because these kids had newer and nicer iPhones then their teacher. Obviously these are just children still. They have a lot to learn and a lot of time to grow, but they are being fed these thoughts from somewhere.

Just like these kids maybe us adults are also being fed what is cool, what makes you popular, or what brand is the one you have to own. Advertisements bombard us everyday. We see the ads and hear the slogans and decide, based on clever marketing, that our life is incomplete without a certain shoe, watch, or cereal. Anyone who has something we deem as lesser must also be lesser.

Let me tell you something though. Life is not about possessions. It’s not about newer or fancier. We have to remember what truly matters in life. It’s not about what we wear or what others perceive of us. Our value as humans comes from something other than the things we own.

Never forget your worth.