Russian Youth Infected with Conspicuous Consumption
Buying name-brand goods and services boosts the majority of younger Russians’ self-esteem, allowing them to maintain their reputation, gain respect, and demonstrate their family’s material wealth, according to research conducted by Natalia Shaidakova of HSE Nizhny Novgorod’s Department of Marketing. Students from elite Russian schools raise their prestige with the help of expensive cars, restaurants and personal items, while students from ordinary schools and universities flaunt the newest and most expensive cell phone models to one another.