Back-to-school is not that serious

I keep seeing ads for laptops and whatnot for "back-to-school" and it really blows my mind. Whatever happened to back to school shopping consisting of the following list:

• no. 2 pencils
• loose leaf paper or notebooks
• new backpack (if needed)
  
• extra erasers
• pencil case (if needed)
• lunch bag (if needed)
• 2 pair of jeans, a pair of shoes and a few shirts
• protractor, ruler or any other items on a list from school
  

Okay, so this is what my school shopping list used to look like when I was younger. See how simple and so not costly that list is. The crazy part is that I usually didn't really need the clothes but my mom really liked for me to "look nice" on those first few days. Apparently the impression I made by the way I dressed was important to her. Seems kinda silly now.

When I was in 8th grade I got an "expensive" backpack - an Eastpack. I got it because it had a lifetime warranty and my mom didn't wanna be buying me any more backpacks. I'm 29 and I still use that backpack. I even went through a period in school when I wanted a new backpack real bad and tried to break that one - it didn't work.

Notice the lack of "technology'" items. Yes, technology wasn't a big deal when I was younger, but it was by the time I was in high school. But the shopping list pretty much never changed. And honestly, the list above is all kids really need.

When I have kids, they are so gonna hate me for not giving them a laptop for kindergarten.