Home > Parenting & Pregnancy > Parenting Styles > Problems Parents Face
Are parents or the advertising industry to blame for consumerism in children?
Results so far:
| Advertiser | 38% | 298 votes | Total: 789 votes | |
| Parents | 62% | 491 votes |
Advertiser
by C. Spencer
Created on: June 02, 2008
As one might suspect, blame in this case is not entirely on one side or the other. However, I do think that a lion's share of the blame falls on the side of the advertisers. Let me explain why.
When I say that advertisers are to blame (at least in substantial part) for consumerism in children, I should be understood as saying that advertisers play a crucial role in causing or bringing about consumerism in children, and that this is immoral. I will defend both of these claims.
First, it seems quite clear that advertisers play an obvious and important role in causing or bringing about consumerist tendencies in small children. As we are all well aware, advertisers are very effective at what they do; children are exposed to literally hundreds of advertisements on a daily basis, and it is very difficult to avoid some forms of advertisements (e.g., those on billboards). Furthermore, it is abundantly clear that if advertisers stopped targeting children with commercial advertisements, children would be less prone to develop consumerist tendencies.
To be clear, this is simply a claim about the causal relationship between advertisers, advertisements, and children. Advertisers create and distribute advertisements; upon seeing these advertisements in sufficient number and with a sufficient degree of regularity, children desire to have the products advertised. Like adults, children learn to associate happiness with the possession of those products featured in commercial advertisements. Insofar as consumerism simply is the ideological view that happiness consists in the possession and use of material goods, it seems that the advertisers play an obvious causal role in bringing about consumerist tendencies and beliefs in children.
My second claim was that it is immoral for advertisers to cause or bring about consumerist tendencies in children. This is a complicated issue, but my basic line of reasoning is as follows. Advertisers seek to create artificial desires ("wants") in children, which will cause them to convince their parents to purchase the products for them. To this extent, then, advertisers use or exploit children for financial gain. It is my view that it is immoral to use or exploit children for financial gain; thus, it is immoral to create artificial desires in children via advertisements.
Let me point out another sense in which it may be considered immoral to advertise to children. Since sustained exposure to effective advertisements does in fact cause people to conceive of happiness in terms of the possession and use of material goods (i.e., it brings about consumerist tendencies and beliefs), and since such a view is psychologically damaging (it causes anxiety in various forms and a general dissatisfaction with life), it is therefore immoral to seek to expose children to sustained levels of commercial advertising.
This accounts for the parents' share of the blame, too. As guardians, parents have a duty to prevent or limit exposure to advertisements by their children. They have this duty precisely because sustained exposure is psychologically damaging.
Clearly, both parents and advertisers can take measures to prevent children from developing consumerist tendencies. Parents can limit their children's television and radio exposure and encourage a more productive and/or healthy use of their time. Advertisers can stop targeting children with their advertisements.
The reason why I have claimed that advertisers have a majority of the blame is because I am well aware of the fact that parents who are very good about trying to shield their children from advertisements and who take other measures to counteract the influence of consumerism still find that their children are deeply affected by the consumer culture. Children are bombarded with ads at school, in public spaces, on every for-profit radio and television station, on the city buses, etc., etc. It is, in short, very difficult for concerned parents to prevent their children from becoming part of the consumer culture. Advertisers, however, do possess a higher degree of control. Advertisers could make the conscientious decision to refrain from exploiting and using children as a means to their own ends.
If one can only be blamed for what one has control over (as I think is the case), then it seems that much of the blame should fall on those who have the most control. And in this case, the advertisers have exponentially more control than individual parents.
Learn more about this author, C. Spencer.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Parents
by Sandy Winn
Created on: June 05, 2008 Last Updated: November 05, 2010
Consumerism in children the fault of parents? Get out of here. Why, just yesterday on the news there was a story about a twelve year-old driving a Hummer to the mall with a ten and seven year-old in tow. Its true! The twelve year-old has a job, a license, a few credit cards, and all other things necessary to be an independent consumer-Oh, sorry, that was a bizarre dream. Now for a look into reality...
Swimming deeper and deeper into an infinite pool of consumer debt are American adults. How can people teach their own children to be financially responsible when the spending habits of their parents are contrary to what is being taught? The folks children should be looking up to when it comes to learning how to be financially wise, their parents, are falling short of being ideal role models. The comedic genius, George Carlin, could not have said it better, " That's all your house is, a place to keep stuff while you go out and get more stuff." Looking around the homes in our country, surely we can see some truth in Mr. Carlin's statement. Blame advertisers, television shows and movies, and friends of children, but the brunt of the blame ultimately lies on the shoulders of the parents and their never-ending quest to have more "stuff."
The reason we see consumerism in children is because their parents are the main consumers of unnecessary, but much sought after belongings. It is not uncommon for a person who as a television, or other electronic goody, that works perfectly well, to run to the mall and buy the latest and greatest television set. After all, there was nothing like watching a movie on the big screen, high definition, surround-sound television at the Greens the other night. Some may feel ashamed of inviting another person into their home when they do not have such an awe inspiring setup and feel the need to run out and acquire the same-on a credit card. Credit cards are great for times of emergency but to use them solely for obtaining more "stuff" is not responsible and especially if one cannot pay it off within a reasonable amount of time. Numerous parents will spend money they don't have, to get what they don't need, just to impress others. More often than not, this a result of how people have allowed society to make them feel, "I am not of value, unless I have what others have." It should not be surprising that children, of parents who have succumbed to societal pressure, exhibit the same behavior.
"Mom and Dad, can I please have a new cellphone? Mine works fine but my friends have one with voice command and I would like one too." You could use other assets in that scenario. Anyone who grew up in the 80's remembers what it felt like to have the fake Calvin Klein or Jordache Jeans, even worse...Wranglers! Though not in school anymore, the mentality of bowing to peer pressure still exists; only now, instead of name-brand jeans, it's a high definition television with a surround-sound stereo system. How can one teach and stress to their children not to cave to their peers when they are guilty of doing so? Society is not, however, the only reason one tends to spend foolishly.
Many adults are swayed towards irresponsible spending choices just because they assume something will make their life more convenient. "The Super-Dee-Duper Vegetable Chopper is on sale for just $19.95? Oh, I simply must have it because I will definitely be able to feed my family healthier meals without being a slave to the kitchen. Gone will be the days in which hours are spent (more like minutes) cutting up vegetables. Never again will I buy canned foods!" Off to phone or Internet they go with a credit card in hand, like a moth to the flame, because some folks cannot resist buying anything that would seemingly make life a little bit easier. A few days later, as promised, the Super-Dee-Duper Vegetable Chopper arrives. It is used with an almost ferocious tenacity for the first few days or weeks and then it eventually ends up sitting in a kitchen cabinet and rarely sees the light of day. Why? Because it is does not work as seen on the infomercial, nor is it easy to clean, or maybe it is a pain in the rear to take apart and put back together again. It is still easier to just buy a can of vegetables or spend a few extra dollars in the produce department on precut vegetables. Now this poor soul is left paying for an item that never gets used with a hefty interest rate to boot.
If a parent falls for marketing ploys and gimmicks, chances are so shall their children. "Mom and Dad, may I please, with sugar on top, have the Ultimate Braid Maker? It's only $19.95! If you buy one, it will make braiding my hair a snap while getting ready for school in the morning." Even though the Ultimate Braid Maker will rarely get used, or even more likely, will not work properly, the $19.95 is forked out because a credit card is available.
Children need a loving home with stability, quality and quantity time with their loved ones, food, and clothing...not more stuff. This is not to say that buying things we or our children want every now and then is wrong, but we tend to get carried away sometimes. Do you really need yet another necklace? Is having that knickknack or ultra-amazing garage tool of the utmost importance?
Numerous families are suffering from financial problems due to consumerism in parents, not children. Certainly one does not want to encourage irrational and unhealthy spending habits in their children. America is in a recession and our country is billions of dollars in debt. If we, as parents, cannot teach our children to be financially responsible by example...good luck finding those who will.
Learn more about this author, Sandy Winn.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Write and get published
Share with other writers
Polish your freelancing skills
Quality articles from proven freelancers
Exclusive rights, fast turnaround
Brand engagement, business blogging -- our writers do it all
INFORMATION
Copyright © 2002-2012 Helium, Inc. All rights reserved.
Helium.com: A Service of RR Donnelley