The spending Youth of America

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With the Holiday season just around the corner, shopping is about to pick up and nobody engages in over-the-top bargain hunting quite like us Americans. Black Friday is almost a holiday unto itself with door-busting deals and over the moon promises of lower deals than the competitors. But who is doing the shopping? According to a recent Harris Poll study, young people are.

Mom and dad making big ticket purchases with their credit cards and check books is a thing of the past as the 2012 Harris Poll YouthPulse study found that 8 to 24-year-olds are increasingly making up a larger percentage of consumer spending.

Thanks in part to their familiarity with and growing use of social media and other technologies that many businesses are using to spread deals and other offerings, the youth of America is projected to count for nearly $211 billion in consumer spending next year alone.

"When we look at what youth today personally own, it's definitely more than the generation before them and immensely more than what kids owned two generations ago," said Regina Corso, senior vice president for Youth and Education Research at Harris Interactive. "What is also important to remember is that youths are not passive receivers of things."

According to the study, more than half of 8 to 12-year-olds will spend their money on typical kid-like items such as candy and toys with more than a quarter planning to buy their own books, and one-in-five purchasing their own clothing instead of dipping into mom and dad's wallets.

The internet and its ever-growing presence has taken the role of the middle man between parents and children. Kids who were once oblivious to deals, sales and other merchant offerings are now finding out about them online before mom and dad do and are quick to take advantage. The survey also revealed that more than 90 percent of 16 and 17-year-olds are on the internet for more than one hour per day, not including email.

Of course we all know that money doesn't grow on trees and many young people need at least a part-time job to have enough spending money to really make a dent on consumer spending. Although the unemployment rate continues to fluctuate, the jobless numbers for the week ending October 22 revealed a decrease of 2,000 in unemployment claims marking an improvement from past weeks.

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