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Sorry you feel that way. But in the grand scope of things, it's only a headphone c'mon now. And it's not like once the kid finds that he doesn't like them, he can't find another kid to sell them to. I don't think something like purchasing a headphone should be a life lesson, nor are Beats the bane of humanity. (though they are not up to snuff in comparison to other headphones)
"Only a headphone" has the potential to turn into "only a car".
"Only a car" can turn into "only a house".
"Only a house" can turn into "only a second house".
"Only a second house" can turn into "Only $80,000 in debt".
Mind you, just purchasing the Beats isn't necessarily going to send someone down this spiral, but the core principal remains the same. The marketing that we are exposed to tells us that we need energy drinks to feel awake, pills to "satisfy" our partners, a new Ford with more LCD screens than horsepower to get to where we need to go in style, expensive cologne, acne medication, technologically-advanced razors and designer suits to get a date, payday loans to afford all of this stuff, and antidepressants when the bank takes all of it away.
But perhaps the marketing that Beats and similar companies in many areas use is the most evil. This style of marketing portrays an object as "cool" and "popular" directly towards impressionable and developing teenagers and children. This causes envy, resentment, and tension between children who have these products and children who don't, further socially isolating children from low socioeconomic households.
When a child sees Beats, they don't see a "cool" or "trendy" or "fun" item. They aren't saying "Wow, this is so cool!"
They're saying, "If I have this, people will like me."
This is the same mentality that fuels overconsumption. It leads to people buying seven-figure houses on five-figure salaries. It leads to people eating five-star dinners while their families eat hot-dogs and boxed mac and cheese. It leads to a lot of people on this forum buying $1000 cables that they don't even want.
And it may work for a little while. It'd be cool to have a friend with a mansion and jet-skis, not going to lie. That might lead to some fun times. But here's the issue, these people wind up being so deficient because they've never had to work at improving themselves to be liked. They didn't have to learn how to be funny, or empathetic, or wise, or intelligent growing up. They were liked because of what they had, so they had no reason to improve who they were. Well, as previously mentioned, children and teenagers are typically developing and impressionable. As adults, few people can relate to these "overconsumers" because they're deficient as people. They typically wind up feeling lonely and misunderstood.
The principles that can lead to overconsumption can be nipped in the bud right here and now with this lesson. If he's given the Beats, perhaps the OP's brother will learn this lesson in the future, and perhaps he already has. Regardless, reinforcing that"who you are" and "what you do" are the keys to being understood and appreciated, and that "what you have" is completely disposable, is imperative to the formation of healthy and happy individuals.
When I was 11 I like Beats but I never wanted them since back then I thought "All headphone sound the same just the design matter" & so I use Apple stock earbuds that hurts my ear for long term listening.
