Selling Childhood? Children and Consumer Culture

Selling Childhood? Children and Consumer Culture

Analyzing the advertising industry has not been challenging like when it comes to children's consumerism culture. While growing up, I was brought up by a caregiver since my parents were always out of the country working. I would love to state that she constructed everything I consumed. I remember being told that there was a way I should dress and the foods I was supposed to be taking. My parents and the caregiver were firm believers in vegan foods, which shaped how I viewed other types of food, such as red meat and fatty foods, especially when advertised on different media platforms. However, some of the factors construed by my caregiver no longer fascinated me. The quote I chose was; “In some respects, the very idea of children’s consumer culture is itself a paradox. At least for older children, that culture is based around the peer group—and it can sometimes involve a subversion of the values of parents. Yet the symbolic resources with which that culture functions are not produced by children, but by adults. It is adults who ultimately provide children with the economic resources to participate in that culture. It is adults who buy, even if it is children who consume” (Buckingham, 2007). 

The quote resonates well with my introduction and the factors that affect the advertisement industry by pointing out that the parents or the caregivers shape most if not all child consumer behavior. Parents play a more prominent role in determining the type of food, toys, dressing, and kind of movies and videos their children consume. Therefore, as much as advertising goods meant to appeal to children are children-centered, there is a need to understand parents’ consumption culture, especially regarding what they want their children to consume. 

I chose the quote because I think that the advertising industry has not considered the role that parents play in making decisions on things their children consume. As much as critics has commodified children as powerless victims of consumer culture, one should note that parents play a very significant role in their children's consumer culture. I would love to support the academicians' view that children are not easily manipulated or exploited as the critics present. Most children understand the intention of the advertisers' messages. In most cases, the basis of understanding is made possible by their parents and caregivers. Reflecting, I remember being told by my caregiver that I should not consume too many sugary foods because they pose a risk to many critical conditions such as obesity and diabetes. 

On the contrary, most advertisers would display sugary foods such as chocolates as sweet with no side effects when consumed in large numbers. Even though they managed to convince a more significant portion, I would say that my upbringing helped me in synthesizing some adverts made by many marketers. Therefore, while coming up with adverts targeting children, marketers need to consider the parents consuming culture. 

Even though the article presents contradicting views on child and consumer culture, it is crucial to consider the role of consumer literacy. The level of consumer literacy can highly influence the parents’ involvement in children’s consumption culture. Most parents influence children to consume products that adversely affect them because of a lack of literacy in consumption. Literate parents construct positive consumption culture in their children, helping them avoid being exploited and manipulated by what they consume in media advertisements. Therefore, parents need to enroll in programs that teach consumer literacy to help bring a generation aware of the intent of each ad. Marketers should also learn to develop products that appeal to parents and children. The overall aim of the study is to provide a solution to how child consumer is constructed. 

Reference

Buckingham, D. (2007). Selling childhood? Journal of Children and Media, 1(1), 15-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482790601005017