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Obsession. It runs rampant through the world of teenagers and trends. They become hooked, quickly, easily. From expanding social networks to popular restaurants, the obsessions continue to grow.
Chipotle
Senior Jen Bondie said she has been “obsessed” with Chipotle ever since the sixth grade.
“Starting in sixth grade my dad would take me to the Chipotle in Arborland and ever since I’ve loved it,” Bondie said. “There was a time in my life that I would go to Chipotle at least once a week.”
And Bondie’s not alone. According to Seeking Alpha, a website specializing in stock market news and financial analysis, Chipotle’s total revenues rose 18 percent last year, to $826.9 million. While their net income jumped to $83.4 million.
Chipotle says that there are 65,000 different combinations of orders a customer can get from the menu, with all the different ingredients they have. Although there are so many different types of combinations, Bondie says that she gets the same thing every time she goes.
“I always get the veggie burrito bowl when I go. It’s by far my favorite on the menu,” Bondie said. “On a scale of 1 to 10 on how much I like it, I’m definitely a 10.”
Starbucks
For junior Paige O’Piela, Starbucks is almost like a home away from home.
“In the past few years, I’d say my spending for Starbucks has almost tripled,” O’Piela said. “On my birthday people will put money on my Starbucks card for me. On holidays, I’ll ask my family for Starbucks cards, because I don’t want to end up spending all my own money on it.”
O’Piela isn’t the only one. Statistics from Statistic Brain, a website specializing in numbers, percentages and rankings, show since 2001 Starbucks has increased their total revenue every year, with an increase of $10.29 billion from 2001-2012.
Gift card activations alone were listed at $820,500,000 in 2011, a $102,900,000 increase from the year before.
And with the closest Starbucks to Dexter being in Ann Arbor, there’s no telling what kind of profit a local Starbucks would make.
“The only time I go to Starbucks, is if I’m at the mall or at Target,” O’Piela said. “If Dexter got one, I’d find myself there almost everyday. I’m obsessed.”
Netflix
Starting in the summer of 2013, junior Joie Graves found herself a new hobby.
“I wanted to watch “Parks and Recreation,” and once I got Netflix, I realized I could watch whatever I wanted,” Graves said.
According to Statistic Brain Netflix currently has 29.2 million subscribers and is responsible for 30 percent of all residential downstream Internet traffic in North America.
It’s popularity has grown in the U.S, and in Graves’ life.
“I usually spend two to three hours on Netflix on a school night, but on a weekend it’s usually around six hours,” she said. “I’ve probably finished around nine complete series so far, and currently just finished Season 1 of ‘Lost.’ I just want to start Season 2 right now. I have the jitters. I just need it right now.”
An obsession? Graves said yes.
“Yes, I’m obsessed,” Graves said. “I need Netflix. There are times that I crave it. Netflix is my life, and also my one true love.”
Twitter
In July of 2006 Twitter was launched as a social media site. In eight years, it has gained 645,750,000 registered users, or about 135,000 every day According to Statistic Brian.
Senior Eden Krull is one of these. Krull has tweeted 36,600 times, more than Justin Bieber and Barack Obama combined.
“I find myself on it whenever I’m bored, which is basically every class period,” Krull said. “Also I constantly find myself on it while I’m trying to study or do homework.”
Krull started her Twitter account in 2010 at the start of her freshman year. Since then she averages 9,150 tweets a year or about 25 tweets a day.
“The most common thing that I tweet or retweet is anything about cats or food,” Krull said.
And at least part of the increase in popularity for Twitter is likely the teenage obsession surrounding Twitter, with many teens making Twitter more of a lifestyle than just another social media website.
Twitter members generate an average of 58 million tweets a day or 9,100 per second and from 2010 to 2013 its annual advertising revenue has grown from $45 million to $405.5 million.
For Krull, it’s definitely a habit she’s become accustomed to.
“It’s something I’ve become addicted to,” Krull said. “It’s a common thing in my everyday life, and I’m willing to admit that I have become obsessed.”
