Kids: Commercial Scapegoats?

Is trapping children the guarantee to future business expansion?

What an easy mark kids are for the big corporation when focusing on sales and profits extending into future years. Especially at an early age when they can be so easily swayed towards corporate choices of lifestyles of consumerism and the buying of certain products.

Of all the unethical happenings that are transpiring to further contaminate the commercial enterprise system, marketing to children is the most upsetting.

This cannot have been restrained much by government intervention or public demand because it is continually more invasive. There are intense commercials that brainwash the young innocent minds. Product displays like food packaging are specifically directed at kids. There are toys and giveaways to attract their attention to a product. It is all so well established and far-reaching that it is somewhat of a conquest of child, and family.

The competition amongst marketers to sell childhood products is very competitive and so the game play becomes more excessive. Trapping the little ones towards each marketer's product is the reward for clever marketing.

It's scary to imagine how far this can be taken. If children are allowed to be brainwashed in any way it should be towards living a healthier and happier life. This would include topics like honesty, nature, charity, friendship, healthy food and lifestyles.

Children are in the learning years of their lives and will absorb much of what is put to them, at home, school and elsewhere. In the classroom they are presumably taught the required educational basics for communicating and earning a living, and some values for living happily. This is also the object of parents whose most precious assets are their children.

Here the problem becomes more difficult and the results less desirable since many parents have already succumbed to this materialistic lifestyle to some degree. They may be just too busy or unaware of what is happening to a whole generation.

Have we lost the battle and the war against the commercial mega-machines? Have many of us not already lost some of our truest values to big business? Do we want our children to travel down this path?

Parents should not be left alone to fight the huge tide of marketing that promotes and persuades children in an artificial direction. Government for the people should be for the people, and that includes kids! Solid support by our politicians in the form of strict legislation favoring families over commerce is sorely required, long overdue, and yes, a monumental task at this point in time.

But they will only act effectively and in favor of the little citizens when it is demanded of them. So let's get interested and turn this around. Check out the advocacy websites, post on family and social change forums and blogs. Discuss your concerns with your co-workers, friends and neighbors. Web search the topics that most concern you.

Examples of resources dealing with marketing to kids.

Monitor on Psychology - Advertising to children: Is it ethical?
Some psychologists cry foul as peers help advertisers target young consumers.

The New American Dream reviews a book by consumer expert Juliet Schor on this very disturbing trend.

The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture by consumer expert Juliet Schor, explores the damaging effects advertising and marketing have on children. According to this breakthrough research, the advertising-saturated culture our children are exposed to is causing an array of psychosomatic symptoms.

Expenditures for advertising and marketing aimed specifically at children have risen to over $15 billion a year. This amount is likely to grow with the increase in children’s buying power, now estimated at more than $30 billion a year in direct purchases. Children influence an additional $670 billion worth of parental spending, making them a prime advertising target. It’s estimated that the average child watches more than 40,000 television commercials per year. According to a recent poll released by the Center for a New American Dream nearly 8 in 10 of Americans (79%) think there should be more limits on advertising to children. The majority of Americans (87%) think that our current consumer culture makes it harder to instill positive values in our children.

The review cites the book's six tips to help parents reduce a child’s exposure to advertising. This is really worth reading if you have kids.
The full review at The New American Dream.

Amy Jussel's Shaping Youth blog is a heart warming big effort devoted to media and marketing's influence on kids. Nice work Amy!

Grampa Ken ~ Author of 32 KEYS About Life and Blogger at Social-Fix

Other posts about kids here at Social Fix

Corporate Media and News Bias

One-sided and influential commercial broadcasting.

Society is pretty messed up with business and consumer greed running rampant, human injustices, poverty and starvation. There are high and low end criminals and very much waste and pollution. Prevalent unhealthy lifestyles exist for so many who should be mentally and physically fit but for the daily persuasions towards harmful habits.

Why does this trend in the same direction for so long and with so little resistance?

Corporate profit would seem to be the main determinant in how we are 'progressing' as a society. The need to increase these profits keeps pushing negative social trends forward, promoting and selling still more excessive, unneeded and even useless and harmful stuff.

But why is there practically no backlash? Criticism is stifled!

The information that citizens absorb in their daily lives influences their future actions and developing lifestyles. World and local social topics from the media and the NEWS are a main source. Friends and acquaintances are another source but most of their information has come from media, perhaps indirectly.

NEWS broadcasting is almost totally dominated by private commercial broadcasting and they are in business for profit. They do not exist to improve society or to make their audiences healthier and happier. What are the chances of seeing on your local news a negative report on a local company's wrong doings when the business is a regular advertiser on the station? Or will a network seek to expose a company's bad ethic if it is a large shareholder?

Government interference is unlikely where wealthy politicians are part owners in these companies or industries, or feel indebted to them in other ways.

And so we get biased reports, excessive and questionable advertising and what ever business chooses to dish out. Public broadcasting is so much more useful but lacks the corporate funding to take any kind of prominence in our daily lives. The chances for future positive social trends looks grim.

What's Wrong With the News?
Independent, aggressive and critical media are essential to an informed democracy. But mainstream media are increasingly cozy with the economic and political powers they should be watchdogging. Mergers in the news industry have accelerated, further limiting the spectrum of viewpoints available to us. With U.S. media outlets overwhelmingly owned by for-profit conglomerates and supported by corporate advertisers, independent journalism is compromised.

Ultimately, FAIR believes that structural reform is needed to break up the dominant media conglomerates, establish independent public broadcasting, and promote strong, non-profit alternative sources of information.

Corporate Ownership
"Almost all media that reach a large audience in the United States are owned by for-profit corporations - institutions that by law are obligated to put the profits of their investors ahead of all other considerations. The goal of maximizing profits is often in conflict with the practice of responsible journalism.

Not only are most major media owned by corporations, these companies are becoming larger and fewer in number as the biggest ones absorb their rivals. This concentration of ownership tends to reduce the diversity of media voices and puts great power in the hands of a few companies. As news outlets fall into the hands of large conglomerates with holdings in many industries, conflicts of interest inevitably interfere with newsgathering.

FAIR believes that independent media are essential to a democratic society, and that aggressive antitrust action must be taken to break up monopolistic media conglomerates. At the same time, non-corporate, alternative media outlets need to be promoted by both the government and the non-profit sector."

Read What's Wrong With the News? at FAIR including advertiser influence, official agendas, telecommunications policy, the PR industry, pressure groups, and more.

Corporate Media Ownership: "The Project Censored team researched the board members of 10 major media organizations from newspaper to television to radio. Of these ten organizations, we found there are 118 people who sit on 288 different American and international corporate boards proving a close on-going interlock between big media and corporate America. We found media directors who also were former Senators or Representatives in the House . . ."
Read more from Project Censored.

Media Conglomerates, Mergers, Concentration of Ownership - is a report from Global Issues, an interesting source for detailed coverage of social concerns.

Related Social Fix posts

Worry, Anxiety and Fear Tips

Suggestions for today's life and social, stresses and worries.
From a old non-pro senior who's been there and done OK.

Anxious and disturbing events are happening all about and we are reminded of them daily. How can we help not being affected by distressing news on war, crime, poverty, corruption and perhaps our personal situations.

We often find ourselves in very worrisome circumstances feeling helpless or hopeless. Unable to get our minds off a problem we flounder around in thoughts of despair.

The harm that worry causes in our lives has been well documented by health professionals, academics and some very wise old sages. Worry can weaken and sicken us, and turn our days into nightmares if left unchecked. At the very least, it can prevent us from living fully and happily the only life that we will ever have. At its worse, it can devastate us.

What to do?
Not to lighten on any oppressive situation but usually we can do something to help ourselves in some way and perhaps eliminate the burden altogether. Of course we should always consider professional medical help with serious physical or mental problems. Many noted thinkers have suggested ideas that apply to a very large percentage of distressing conditions and have provided helpful ideas for living a more peaceful and happy life.

Worried that a dire situation 'might' occur can waste large portions of one's life, considering that so often it is for nothing. Worrying almost certainly does no good if nothing can be done, and it cannot or should not be avoided. To continue worrying about it will only increase the stress and result in yet more worry.

A lot of our anxieties and fears have no sound basis and we can turn them off, if we first think them through. A friend can be a big help here by providing another viewpoint, a useful suggestion or simply directing your thoughts back on a sound course.

With a quick and positive change of thoughts we can feel better, even when there appears to be no way up. So switch off the negatives and simply start thinking nice pictures, ideas and experiences. Stop and make a list to remind yourself of what you have and the things that make you feel good: Family, friends, nature, music, gardening, pets . . .

Philosophers of old have looked at anxieties this way: Consider that the situation is not causing the terrible feelings, but it is what we think of the situation. This can have an enormous positive effect on how we are feeling. So if a specific problem is on your mind analyze it. Gather together all the facts. List the possible solutions with pros and cons. Detail the steps to be taken. Follow through now or when the time comes.

If you are worried about something that you have already done consider if there is still something you can do, and want to do to make amends. If there isn't close and lock the doors on it.

For a problem that you still view as having no practical solution, know that others have been there and been worse. They have survived and are well and so will you be.

Here are some words from those very wise guys, carried on down through the centuries just because they are very wise words. A slow read through them should be a breath of fresh air when the mind is smogged in worry.

• There are more things, Lucilius, that frighten us than injure us, and we suffer more in imagination than in reality. - Seneca
• Drag your thoughts away from your troubles... by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it. - Mark Twain
• Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday. - Author Unknown
• The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. - Elbert Hubbard
• My life has been full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened. - Michel de Montaigne
• If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today. - E. Joseph Cossman
• A hundredload of worry will not pay an ounce of debt. - George Herbert
• That the birds of worry and care fly over you head, this you cannot change, but that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent. - Chinese Proverb

The Quote Garden a large very and well designed site for quotations that I visit often.
Related self-help articles

Grampa Ken - Author of 32 Keys About Life and social issues blogger at Social-Fix.
This Creative Commons article is free to copy with the hyperlinked byline intact.

Idols, Fame and Failed Lives

Business and entertainment - success and ruin.
Another black sore on our failing social structure?

The rewards of attaining fame and fortune
can be very costly in terms of a life of happiness.


It is so unfortunate when entertainers or business tycoons strive relentlessly to achieve top rating only to find themselves in the eye of a storm of stress and torment. The final results of achieving idol status can be so devastating, in business if you err badly, but especially in the entertainment industry.

Talented individuals want to achieve success in life and to be happy, and their parents may wish this for them. But they must first pay attention to the bad news stories and picture the overall saga from start to finish. There are so many tales about attaining glory and the heartaches that go with it. Under gentle circumstances and with most careers, the arts and sports, winning can be so wonderful.

So would you encourage your talented son or daughter toward stardom? What a dilemma with all that recognition and success that could lie ahead. But again it comes down to the perception of success. A peaceful and happy family life enjoying simple and natural values seems to offer the best journey and destination. With stardom this cannot be easy at all.

The corporate entertainment machines, with profits as the main objective, have made it very difficult for stars to have both success and true happiness in their lives. So often they will be over programmed and driven into the wall, exhausted and empty. And of course there is the star's personal desire to acquire yet more, which is so prevalent in so many areas of our society.

You have read enough stories of the resulting pain and humiliation of some of the most post popular and successful stars. The list is long: Famous Celebrity Addicts. This is why I shudder when I read of children or youth talent contests.

Turning It Around: Causes and Cures for Today's Epidemic Social Problems.
Bill Allin's overview of the consequences of achieving stardom warns; "Many people would happily change lives with their idols, but they know almost nothing about the troubles these famous people endure. They would hate it.

'Before we set our hearts too much on anything, let us examine how happy are those who already possess it.' - François, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, French moralist (1613-1680)

Many (especially, but not exclusively, young people) people wish they could be rock stars. So many rock stars are either drug users or addicts or heavy users of alcohol, or both, that it's a wonder anyone would want to emulate them. True, they get adulation from the crowds, but the pressure on them to make continually more money to support growing numbers of helper employees often nets them less than their less heralded counterparts.

Music stardom brings with it fame, a double edged sword. Being recognized every time you step out your door is great for the ego for a while, but it becomes stifling when you can't appear in public anywhere without being mobbed. Stardom usually reduces a person's ability to move around in public places, including traveling, which many "unknown" people enjoy.

Movie stars have gained adoring followers since the days of silent movies. They suffer the same downside of fame as the music stars. And the same pressure to make more money and inability to move about in public without attracting greedy and grabby fans. The "stars" who inhabit the pages of supermarket tabloids have no private lives at all. The paparazzi follow them everywhere and photograph them in the most embarrassing and compromising situations possible. . . . .

As the old saying goes: The pasture always looks greener on the other side of the fence, but it looks just as brown as your own when you get up close. A newer saying goes: Be careful what you wish for, you may get it.

Read the entire article here. Bill Allin blogs and writes a commentary on various subjects, mostly social problems.

It is normal to want better, but we have to balance our goals with the cost. How much will it cost in terms of real life?

Related articles

Viewing Life and Society at 75

A senior's reflections on living today.

Today and at a significant milestone - I'm wondering . . .
What the heck are we doing with this world and its people?

We've come a long way from the caveman days but our advancements in achieving the good life seem to be cresting. Many facets of society have become faster, tenser and somewhat nastier. Is this the age of plenty or of too much, as we gobble up natural resources and compete with our fellow creatures for more of everything? We strive and wonder what next can we get as we are pushed on by the big free enterprise machines.

But life is good depending on one's sense of values, and I'm optimistic about seeing a sensible and just civilization ahead. It will take some huge changes in the way we do business, treat the poor, and value simplicity and peaceful lifestyles. But we can do it and we will do it. I know there is a lot of talk going on out there, particularly on the internet as I get involved.

But birthday boy has some comments about arriving at the big 75 and being happy about the results of the trip here, potholes and all. I'm enjoying my relaxed life and my most valuable assets - my family. A loving wife, two perfect kids and two wonderful grandkids. WOW!

We are faced with much bad NEWS these days, but we've always had news stories. There are just more people here and then there's the sensationalism value of shock for the media guys who are making the most of what will get attention and profit.


And lots of nice things happen each day to complete another page.

I often get a pleasant greeting or a polite gesture from a teenager. Even a rough looking kid usually will return a smile if you just give one first, as with many people. He only looked a bit unfriendly because he had a lot on his mind. I remember . . .

I am also happy when I pass a 100 year senior uptown who makes a point to catch my eye so as to exchange smiles. I imagine many years of the good life with nice friends and family, problems that were handled in a kind and positive way. Who benefits most, the giver or the receiver of a friendly expression? Perhaps it's a draw.

I was picking up a small bouquet of flowers at the supermarket one day a while back. It wasn't Valentines Day and it was early, about 8:30am. As I walked to the store entrance a very old gent about 90-100 came out slowly. He was in sports coat and tie and carrying a small bouquet of flowers. I wondered if he was heading for some happy or sad moments. Either way, lots of pleasant memories, I'm certain of that.

There are some disadvantages to aging and one of the most common is a weakened memory system. A blank can pop up at any moment, such as a person's name and can be embarrassing - unless you have quit getting embarrassed. There is one thing that I constantly forget. I can't remember just what but it's no big deal anyway. A doctor told me that this is a common problem as you get older, offered up some suggestions and concluded that I was actually OK - for a guy my age. But I'm not too sure what a veterinarian should know about my mental well-being anyway.

Eye floaters, objects and dots that reside in the field of vision for awhile, are common. Last week I chased fruit flies around the kitchen with no luck and I'm not sure there were any.

Ah but there are also many advantages of reaching a ripened age! People keep telling you that you're looking good. There are hardly any rerun movies on TV and anything I haven't seen for a year is new. And there's so much more.

Regrets? Guilt? I would be burdened with them, but only if I ever stopped to think about them again and I won't! Being a senior is a time when you are able to say "I don't care" about certain problems, perhaps problems that aren't even problems. So many worries never materialize or fade away quickly, at any age, and worrying can be such a waste of time.

Creativity may not lessen and just this year I perfected a way to save water. By gradually pressing the flush handle on the toilet it can perform its flush function exactly when there is just enough water, without discharging the tank! I know - put a brick in it, but sometimes you want the full contents.

Life can be good whatever your age so don't just sit around watching TV. Get up and about, but relax and don't rush. Be positive and friendly. Read and learn to improve your well being. Develop and follow healthy eating habits. Sleep well!

Every season hath its pleasures;
Spring may boast her flowery prime,
Yet the vineyard's ruby treasures
Brighten Autumn's soberer time.
Thomas Moore (1779-1852)

Relax, smile, take awhile.

Grampa Ken ~ Author of 32 KEYS About Life and Blogger at Social-Fix
This Creative Commons article is free to copy with the hyperlinked byline.

Related posts

Social Bullying is Big Business

The corporate use of bully marketing has increased considerably in over the years. Shaming consumers as one way to convince them that they need certain products. As we compare our possessions with one another we tend to develop a need to belong to a certain material status and perhaps keep ahead to be really cool and admired. In competing this way with one another we travel down an unnatural path.

Bullying is an intimidating, harmful mental or physical act directed at an individual and rooted in meanness. Milder, widespread bullying is often associated with consumerism, both by individuals in a social group and by corporate marketers greedily playing on social fears to create false desires - for their goods.

We are constantly bombarded with persuasions to improve our lives artificially by acquiring more things. We must have newer, bigger, better cars, the latest branded styles, gadgets, higher end homes and furniture and we should look beautiful too. Acquire these things or we might feel inferior.

A promotional technique by corporations seeking higher profits is to make people feel inadequate if they do not own a certain product, because the smart good looking people have it. The marketing can be crafty and cunning often convincing us that life will not be OK, unless we gain the acceptance or admiration of others. An individual captured by this type of marketing might feel inadequate and even humiliated unless possessing these 'necessities'. And it can be very difficult to resist if peers have already given in to the pressure.

The result of all this can be a strong underlying urge to compete and raise one's standing at the office, school or neighborhood. This can be harmful or even devastating to those who will not or cannot keep up. Youths can be very stressed in these situations as they worry about socializing and their future. Various forms of bullying can result in sad personal consequences including social anxieties or worse.

Advertisers Strike it Rich Targeting Kids
"Advertisers now spend more than $230 billion a year, or $2,190 per household, according to advertising giant McCann-Erickson, and there is little question that much of that advertising is designed to effectively target kids. Kids 12-19 spent a record $155 billion of their own money in 2001, up from $63 billion just four years earlier. And according to kids marketing expert James McNeal, children aged 12 and under influenced more than $500 billion of their parents' purchases in 2000."
More with tips for parents from the New American Dream.

Steve Kravit and Jacqueline express concerns in a Scribd paper
Shaping Society with a Lack of Shape: Media Representation and Body Image
"We are each exposed to over 2000 ads a day, constituting perhaps one of the most indirectly powerful educational forces in society relating to our self body image. It can be seen that advertisements ultimately sell a great deal more than products; they sell values, images, and concepts of success and worth
. . .
They in a sense tell us who we are and who we should strive to be. Men and women, teens, boys and girls—all segments of society tie identity to the way people look, to body size and shape, to clothes and even one’s hairstyle.

Therefore, the way we view our body and image can have a tremendous impact on the way we feel about ourselves. For most people, especially adolescents, body image is strongly influenced by mass media and advertising."
Read more on Media Representation and Body Image . . .

Further reading on this topic is the book Brand Name Bullies: The Quest to Own and Control Culture. It gives an impassioned, darkly amusing look at how corporations misuse copyright and trademark law to stifle creativity and free speech. More info and resources.

Life should not be about the phony materialistic images shoved in our faces. Satisfaction about who we are, about friends, families and the natural world around us is what we need to embrace.

Styles promote a competitive environment but friendship grows easier in a noncompetitive environment.

Posts on Simple Living.

Live and Learn Like Kids

Live, laugh, work, and learn - like children.

Small kids could teach us a bit about living and enjoying each day to the fullest, if we have forgotten how.

Children know how to apply determination to do what they want to do. Watch a baby learn to walk. And children know how to laugh and have fun, when some of us have lost much of humor over the past decade or more.

For so many, living on a merry-go-round of doing things that must be done, as well as doing things which do not need to be done, has not left much time for the simple pleasures of life.

Many of us have forgotten how to take a real break, to rest and refresh our thoughts and to have a bit of fun, even though it's so very important. Our daily life includes responsibilities concerning work, family, other people, and dealing with various problems. To have a fulfilling day in the process try to not take on too many different things. Review regularly your lifestyle, pleasures, principles, conduct and goals, because it is so easy to go off track.

We are what we think according to Buddha so we ought to think happiness as we start each day. We can reflect about things that can improve our feelings like pleasant and relaxing experiences and words. Memories and incidents can bring a smile and a positive change of thought, if we will take the time.

Some remembrances of how kids see things differently just make me feel good.

Salesmanship
We were eating dinner a long while back when our kids' 4 yr old friend from across the backyard came to call them outside. I answered the door and told Billy they couldn't just now, they were eating dinner. By this time he had his foot inside the door. "Can I come in?" - "No, come back a bit later." - "But my Dad said I could!"

Learning
Kids usually like to talk and ask a lot of questions and increase their knowledge about everything. When our daughter was 4 years old she watched as I washed the car on a cool fall day. She never stopped talking all the while and asked dozens of questions, one right after the other. It slowed up the wash job very pleasantly and painted a permanent picture in my mind.

Our 3 year old son was interested in medicine at the time and once crossed from the back yard with a beet root strung over the back of his neck; "Me the doctor!" Another time he referred to a bulrush as a wiener flower but immediately learned its true name.

Cartoon lover
For our granddaughter's 3rd birthday I made up a T-shirt with a fabricated photo of Grandma, Grampa, Barney and pals. She later asked her Mom: "The next time Barney goes to Gramma's can I go to?"

Management career intentions
Then there's our grandson, now he has a mind of his own, even at 3. Attempting to get him to do it my way, I told him I was the boss here. He said he was the boss. I said that he was the small boss and I was the big boss. So he stood on his toes, stretched and very seriously said: "I'm the biggest boss!"

More learning
Last year I was entering the library as a young man and his 3-4 yr old daughter were leaving. Dad was saying: "No that's not a store. It's a library. That's where they keep all the books." Libraries may never have the same influence on her that corporate marketing and the media will, but then that depends . . . .

Honesty and milking the system
I was about 4 and living where I had not yet started school. It was Halloween night and I was making my 3rd trip around the block with my 2 year older brother. When the lady asked, "Haven't you been here before?" I answered yes, two times.

In raising a family there are so many precious words spoken by kids that are mostly forgotten. I would advise anyone starting out to keep a small notepad and a diary to record it all for later years.

And maybe we can learn a thing or two once again.

Related posts on children

This Creative Commons article is free to copy with the following hyperlinked byline.
Grampa Ken - Author of 32 Keys About Life - and blogger for change at Social-Fix.