Picture this. It’s your first day of matric and you roll up in a Porsche that belongs to you, while wearing Louis Vuitton sunglasses with your uniform. Your backpack isn’t some average school bag but instead it’s a Christian Dior tote bag from the brand’s 2020 spring collection. And no, this isn’t a scene from a teen TV show, but a reality.
A few weeks ago, digital creator and matric pupil, Luyanda Mhlalukwana (@yanda.woods) showed off how she does “back to school” on Instagram.
Her video set social media alight, eliciting envy, aspiration and a bit of SBWL (SUB- please keep this term in) energy.
And then last week, a Pretoria mother, Caro Matau made headlines when she bought a car for her 13 year old son. Sharing the purchase on Facebook, she said that two years ago she promised her son that when he turned 13 she would teach him how to drive a car. It was when she realised that he could not learn to drive on her big automatic vehicle, she decided to by him a ’starter car’.
“He needs a manual car to learn. And he will learn driving in our estate until such time when the law allows him to get the right documents and drive in the streets. So today I got him a small manual wheels to teach him how to drive a car. He will learn, make mistakes and be a perfect driver who will run our errands,” Matau said.
One thing is for certain- South African learners are pulling out all the stops and living the life of the rich kids we all fantasised about.
While some of us travelled to high school driven in our parents' old car or used local transport run by some neighbourhood uncle, today’s children – “Ama2000” as they are called – are facing a different reality.
The children of the rich or more well-off of South Africa aren't seen riding to school in minibuses or walking to school, they are arriving at school in absolute style.
Between movies like Cruel Intentions, Clueless and Wild Child and TV shows like Gossip Girl, Elite and South Africa’s Blood & Water, the rich school kid storyline has, for so many years, had teenagers fantasising about custom-made Fabiani uniforms, Gucci Mary Janes and being chauffeur-driven to school.
Netflix’s Blood & Water and Showmax’s The Girl from St. Agnes, gave us a glimpse of all that goes down in the South African high schools of the privileged. While it may have all been scripted, there is no denying that there are teenagers in South Africa living the ultimate soft life while still in high school.
And being the school’s Chuck Bass or Blair Waldorf is one sure way to establish elite status.
The Pressure On Other Students
Learners are back in school, and while for some it might be the start of their scholastic career with 12 years ahead of them, for others it’s the start of high school, a period that can either make or break a young person and have a lasting impact on their lives ahead.
High school is an entirely new realm where juniors have to find their place in a small pool with big fish. A pool where you have three choices: sink, swim or just about keep your head above water.
In order to get through high school unscathed, you can keep your head down, fly under the radar and blend into the background so as not to draw too much attention to yourself. This is one way to keep you safe from the ones who want to take up more space in the pond.
Or you can be bold. Step up. Step out. Be loud. Be flashy.
In order to take that route, you’ll have to be bigger and bolder than the established “cool kids”, the “it crowd”.
School-goers are showing that one doesn't need to wait until they are out of high school to experience the finer things in life.
As Luyanda Mhlalukwana’s Instagram story reminded us, some people are living lavishly and from a young age. It is therefore no surprise that even luxury brands are heavily targeting Gen Z in their marketing, signing up young stars like Emma Raducanu, Yara Shahidi, Zendaya, Khaby Lame, Elsa Majimbo and Naomi Osaka as brand ambassadors.
Matric dances have become a playground for South Africa’s top designers as matriculants have become their clients every season.
It seems that a dress made by Aunty Carol in the city centre just doesn’t cut it, as these rich kids want a dress from Gert-Johan Coetzee or Orapeleng Modutle.
It’s hard to forget that social media storm that Katlego Mogaladi caused in 2019 on social media when she posed with a Rolls-Royce and Ferrari in a silver gown designed by Gert-Johan Coetzee at her school-leaving bash.
The rich and elite in South Africa are ensuring that their children have the best, and with money being no object, they are going all out.
This past initiation season saw the umgidi – homecoming celebrations – being grander than ever.
The celebrations are becoming exclusive with those who can afford to go all out: planners, DJs, MCs, decor, open bars, everything.
Pathiswa Sidiki caused quite the stir when she went all out for her first-born son Sihle's homecoming.
Sihle was a matriculant at a top school in the Eastern Cape.
The Eastern Cape businesswoman, according to the Daily Dispatch, spent R1 million on her son's big day.
Pictures of the high-end umgidi, which took place in Mthatha, trended on social media. The celebration had top musicians performing and he even received a new VW as a gift.
While this soft life might come easy to those who have been born with a silver spoon in their mouths, it remains out of reach for many South African learners.
It’s a fact that social media tends to be only the highlight of one's daily life. Influencers, young or old, paint a picture of perfection, and in many cases it’s a tweaked, photoshopped and distorted version of reality.
For the young and impressionable, this isn’t always clear, which leaves them aspiring to a fake reality.
Over and above the normal and everyday pressures teenagers have to deal with, they are now trying to keep with a lifestyle that is unattainable, leaving them feeling even more insecure and making it hard for them to be part of the desirable “in crowd” since the bar is now set even higher than before.
Where does this leave the parents who are just about getting by and doing their best to have their children attend the schools where the “rich kids” get to play in their designer Mary Janes?
The child who took the bus to school or was dropped off in their dad’s second car is diving into the deep end of the small pond with little to no hope of reaching the top where the “in crowd” effortlessly float.
This article first appeared in Saturday Insider, Feb 5, 2022