Today's younger generation is notably more financially aware and entrepreneurial, using freelancing, online business, investment and social media to achieve independence earlier than previous generations. The concern arises when financial success begins to replace knowledge, experience and character as the primary measure of a person's worth.

Some time ago, during a conversation with an experienced banker, I heard an observation that stayed with me: when a teacher arrives in an old-model car and the student comes in a Fortuner, how much weight will the student give to what the teacher says? The problem is not the Fortuner. The problem is that our definition of success has changed.

Increasingly, people are judged by how much they earn, what car they drive, which phone they use and how many social media followers they have. Lifestyle is beginning to outweigh learning. The distinction between price and value is becoming blurred. Not everything expensive is valuable, and not everything valuable looks expensive.

Earlier generations often gave children........

© The Express Tribune