I’m 14 and like most teenagers, I love shopping.I spend most weekends with my friends wondering around countless shop in search of new clothes, accessories and DVDs. And like many girls my age, a lot of what I buy ends up lost at the back of my wardrobe, or on a shelf forgotten. So what is it that gives us a rush that keeps us so addicted to our favourite activity!?

We live in a shopping obsessed culture and we’re perfectly used to it. Everywhere we look there are posters, flyers and advertisements encouraging us to ‘buy one get one free’ or ‘grab a bargain while stocks last’. Most of us grow up knowing more about where Sarah Jessica Parker buys her shoes from, than our own school work. Compared to when our parents were our age and spending money might have amounted to 50p a week, shopping has become the main recreational activity for most teens. Our whole generation has much more money to spend and a huge amount of marketing psychology is tailored to help us spend it.

So is it just girls that shop excessively and fall victim to the hype? It seems we are the biggest spenders but these days even the boys are catching up with an increase in campaigns targeted at getting them spending. But while most lads tend to just grab the first thing that catches their eye, with a ‘that’ll do’ attitude, girls have a tendency to approach shopping with their emotions. This can make for a great confidence boosting therapy or it can lead to serious problems. For most, spending money on the latest trends helps us deal with our insecurities. It makes us feel good about ourselves and confident about the way we look. Sure most of us will just shop as a way of feeding these needs, and that’s fine as long as we’re not spending money we don’t have, but others can take shopping to another level.

So when does shopping go too far? For those of us who get out of control with our spending, there is a real risk of actually becoming addicted (also known as Oniomania). Believe it or not, having a shopping addiction can be almost as serious as having a drug or alcohol addiction and it’s estimated to affect at least one in five of us. Shopping addictions tend to largely affect effect females and we often buy things we don’t need through emotional decision making. Some of us are compulsive about buying certain things such as shoes and bags, others will buy anything. Those of us that do have this addiction tend to have a wardrobe full of unworn clothes complete with price tags. Doctors have even started to give people medication to help with this problem.

And how do we know if we have this problem? Just like any other addiction, we tend to feel ashamed and guilty. We might hide evidence and lie to cover what we’re doing. We might also feel that we are hopeless and helpless. When we realise that we have the addiction, we tend to feel frightened and worried about money, which has in most cases spiralled into debt. This is the point when many admit what they are doing and get help. Fortunately most of us won’t ever reach this stage with shopping and it will remain a fun, relaxing and social activity we’ll love until we’re old and grey. But it’s important that we remain aware of our shopping patterns to be sure they don’t get out of hand. Check out my quiz on the next page to find out what type of shopper you are…

By Rosie Thompson