UniversityStudents‘PursuitofFamousBrands
“Whatperfumesareyouwearing?”“Aren‘tyourshoesNike’slatestrelease?”“IliketheMickeybagyouboughtyesterday.”“IheartheJack&Jonesstoreisonsalethisweek.Doyouwannacomealong?”Don‘tfeelsurprisedifyouhearthemcomingoutofthemouthofcollegestudents.It’squitecommontohearandseecollegestudentsswappinginformationaboutthebrandstheylikeandtheproductstheyuse.Infact，discussionsaboutbrandnameshavebecomeoneofthecollegestudents‘favouritepastimes.Theylearnaboutthelatestfashionfromeachother，exchangetipsaboutwhenandwheretogettheitem，andbuyitattheirearliestconvenience.“KeepingupwiththeJoneses”istheirconviction—“IftheJoneseshaveit，howcouldIhavenot?”Aboutthiscurrentmindsetofthecollegestudents，manypeoplemayhastentoshowtheirdisapproval.They’llprobablytakeittobeareflectionofthestudents‘vanityandsuperficiality.Andtheymaylecturethemonthevirtueofbeingthrifty.
However，Ibegtodiffer.Foronething，name-brandproductsareusuallyqualityproducts.Theyaresomethingbeautiful，endurable，andreliable.“Theloveofbeautyiscommontoall，”goestheproverb;therefore，there‘snothingtoblameaboutthepursuitoffamousbrands.Fortheother，collegestudentsareoldenoughtomaketheirowndecisions.Likewise，theymustabidebytheconsequencesiftheymakeanill-advisedone.Iftheylettheirpursuitofbrandseatintotheirbudgetforothermoreimportantissues，theyshouldbeabletocorrecttheirmistakesandkeepeverythinginmoderation.Sothisbecomesnootherthanagoodchancetolearnmanagement，isn’tit?
Then，whatshouldbedonetodoawaywithfakecommodities?Tostartwith，thegovernmentneedstotightenitsinspectionprogramandstrengthenitsenforcementpolicies.Secondly，honestbusinessmenshouldmodifysomelong-acceptedpracticesattheprotectionoftheirintellectualpropertyright.Mostimportantofall，weconsumerswillhavetodoabetterjoboflearninghowtodistinguishbetweenthegenuineandthephoneyanddefinitelysaynotothefakeones.Inoneword，thecoordinatedeffortofthewholesocietywillputanendtofakecommodities.
