Have we all gone shopping mad?

IT all starts innocently enough. Firstly, as a tot, going around town with mum as she goes from shop to shop searching for yet another black top. Then come all the Saturday afternoon outings with school friends to giggle nervously over the hair clips at Claire's Accessories.

Fast forward a few years and teenagers are spending their pocket money (or more likely their parents' wages) on the latest trendy gear and gadgets.

Keep projecting forward, and it will all end in tears, with youngsters' spending spiralling out of control and their conspicuous consumption consuming them in a mountain of debt.

That is the fear of the National Consumer Council (NCC), which today warns that British children are being primed to become a nation of shopping addicts.

In a survey, the NCC - an independent body which looks after the interests of consumers - found that almost eight in ten children aged ten to 12 said they already enjoyed shopping.

This trend continues through their teenage years, particularly among young women.

Regionally, young folk in Yorkshire rank second in the country to in terms of their passion for shopping. Some 83 per cent of ten to 19 year olds in the region say they enjoy shopping.

They were only out-shopped by their contemporaries in the East Midlands, where 93 per cent admitted enjoying a dose of retail therapy.

At the bottom of the table is East Anglia, where 75 per cent of tweens and teens admitted they liked shopping a lot.

However, points out a spokeswoman for the NCC, that's still a high figure - with at least three-quarters of young people enjoying regular bouts of shopping.

"The survey reveals what a huge problem it is for the younger generation," she said. "We hope it makes adults think about their shopping habits too.

"If by the age of ten you are already thinking so much about shopping, it raises the question of what we as a society have done to make our children this way. On Sundays, families used to go to church, now they go to the shops.

"We're not saying that shopping is not fun or that people should not go out and buy nice things. But we see this survey as providing an early-warning sign. Young people could be put at risk of becoming shopaholic if they continue to see shopping as such an interesting activity."

The NCC has timed the release of its survey findings to tie in with tomorrow's Buy Nothing Day, which challenges people to switch off from shopping and do something else for 24 hours.

But many young people see shopping as harmless fun.

Eleven-year-old Imo Cole from York says shopping is one of her favourite things to do.

"Since I was ten, I've been allowed to go into town with my mates on a Saturday afternoon," she said. "We like to go to shops like Tammy, New Look and Claire's. I'll buy something - as long as I have the money. I like to look around to see something that I really like. Then I'll save up my pocket money until I have enough to buy it."

Imo said she caught the shopping bug from her nana. She said she was more interested in buying something she liked than because of its label. She tends to buy jewellery and bags with her pocket money, while more expensive items, such as clothes, are bought at birthday and Christmas time.

Unlike her friends Jessica and Sophie, Imo doesn't have a mobile phone. She said she would like one, but knew she couldn't afford to run it, so didn't really mind.

Also, she has other interests. She attends the York School of Music and Drama on Tuesdays after school and on Saturday mornings. "I like dancing and do jazz, tap and character," she says.

Fourteen-year-old Becky De Obaldia, from Haxby, says she too has caught the shopping bug from her mum.

"I go shopping about once a week, sometimes with my friends, or my mum. I like to go to Free Spirit, Gap or O'Neill. It is fun. I like trying things on and buying something new, although I don't always buy something."

If Becky spots an item in the shops, she either saves her pocket money or asks her parents to buy it for her. Cost did not really come into the equation, she said. "I wouldn't worry about the price. I would just ask for it. My mum is not a bargain hunter, she likes nice things as well."

Very occasionally, said Becky, she would make a mistake. "I bought a top but when I got it home I didn't like it any more. So I just wear it around the house."

Becky admits she likes to keep up to date with the latest gadgets and has a camera phone. "I use it like my old mobile to call and text my friends but I also like to take pictures of my friends, my mum and my brothers."

Despite her enjoyment of shopping, there are other activities she enjoys more. "I like being with my friends, going to their houses, or the park, getting together for a talk or a sleepover."

She said some of her friends hated shopping and while she understood there was peer pressure to have the latest things, it wasn't something she succumbed to.

She said: "I don't see it like that. I go shopping, because I enjoy it."

For a change, buy nothing at all

Now in its 11th year, Buy Nothing Day encourages us to live frugally for a day. The challenge, according to the organisers, is for you, your friends and family, to 'switch off from shopping and tune into life'.

The serious point, they say, is to get us thinking about our rampant consumerism.

Did you know developed countries account for just 20 per cent of the world's population yet consume more than 80 per cent of the earth's natural resources, causing a disproportionate level of environmental damage and unfair distribution of wealth?

Organisers of the day want us to think about buying less, recycling more and challenging companies to be clean and fair to producers.

A visit to the website (www.buynothingday.co.uk) lists 101 things to do tomorrow other than shop.

Ten things to do instead of shopping

1. Decorate your window box or front garden - then you won't need to buy a Christmas tree.

2. Turn your mobile off and chill out.

3. Play football (with the girls too!).

4. Have a bath in candlelight.

5. Look at the Encyclopedia Britannica website

6. Take up jogging.

7. Return to the shops all the things you bought last weekend.

8. Brew your own wine or beer.

9. Take your dog for a walk - or borrow one and take that for a walk.

10. Hold a swap shop - exhibit all your unwanted goods and invite people to come and swap their useless things with yours.

Updated: 11:14 Friday, November 26, 2004