I think it is a combination of personality and parenting. Parents naturally want their children to have a better life than them growing up, even if theirs was a really good life. So, parents will naturally buy stuff for their kids that they never got to have. Everyone reacts differently to things cause they have a different personality, so every kid will react different to this. My parents provided a lot to us that they never had. We had computers, internet, they bought our first car and paid for its insurance... My parents pretty much bent over backwards so we never knew want.
To be blunt, my sister reacted to this by becoming spoiled and expecting things to be provided for her. She is a thief even though she does not need to be. She just thinks that she deserves anything she wants and that she should have it, and she has no problem asking mom & dad for money if she can't get it on her own (she's older than me, so yeah, she's an adult). I'm just the opposite. I really took after dad. I have no desire to gain material things and zero interest in them. In fact, I hate shopping. All I really want are pets. I hate asking my parents for money and work hard to not have to do that. I would rather give something up before asking for money. We both had the same parents, so our spending difference must be a personality thing.