Grip the edge of the table, reader, and brace yourself for a shock. A survey of 1,619 people has found - and this is a biggie - that young people are image-conscious. Yes! Almost a quarter of young folk “feel a strong social pressure to stay in fashion through the purchase of products”. Apparently many 16 to 34-year-olds are caught in a “cycle of competitive luxury spending to keep up appearances”.

Who'd have thought it? Young people buying stuff. And wanting it to be fashionable? I bet those people who say that the three million surveys that come out each week are inane publicity-seeking devices which state the obvious feel pretty stupid now.

Because Monilink - for this is the name of the mobile banking service behind this groundbreaking stuff - has more where that came from. Apparently, more women are concerned about image than men and the “top areas of spending by 16 to 34-year-olds” are holidays (27 per cent), drinking and going out (21 per cent), clothes (19 per cent), gadgets (12 per cent), home improvement (10 per cent), cars (8 per cent) and jewellery (3 per cent). I haven't felt so stunned since the survey that revealed that children's favourite foods are chips and ice-cream.

But at least they have come up with a name for all this. “Bling-itis” is defined as being concerned about public image, valuing short-term luxury over longer-term financial security, and associating spending with personal happiness. So that'll be everyone under 40, then.

Here's an interesting finding, though: almost a quarter of young people check their bank balance only once a month, often going overdrawn and clocking up charges. But help is at hand. They can now check their balances on their mobile phones by downloading - you've guessed it! - the Monilink mobile banking service at www.monilink.co.uk. Because that's just what we need, isn't it? Another reason for the younger generation to stare gormlessly into their phone screens.

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