A 59 minute public affairs show by high school students in Mendocino county, CA. Our topic for today is Consuming the Youth. Here we are, in the middle of the holiday season and the push is on to spend money. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, shop till you drop, it appears to be America s favorite past time. Does it ever feel like we are being manipulated?
Our topic for today is Consuming the Youth. Here we are, in the middle of the holiday season and the push is on to spend money. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, shop till you drop, it appears to be America s favorite past time. Does it ever feel like we are being manipulated? There is nothing new about the pressure to spend at this time of year- once the Depression and World War 2 were finished, stores and the media have heralded how important it is for us to consume during the short days of the year- even if it is for things we already have, or do not need, or have to go into debt to possess. Calling it the season of giving removes the stigma of selfishness from it. It is wonderful to give gifts to other people, and to receive them. But are we doing this out of free will and rationality? Or are we being manipulated? Are advertisers just using the power of suggestion, or do they use the tools of mind control? And at what age are youth trained to become consumers? A few definitions are in order. Consumerism is used to describe the tendency of people to identify strongly with products or services they consume. Especially those with commercial brand names and obvious status-enhancing appeal- for example an expensive automobile, expensive clothes, and captivating technological devices. A culture that is permeated by consumerism can be referred to as a consumer culture. Impulse buyers who cannot resist spending money are commonly termed shopaholics. Affluenza is a term used by critics of consumerism. It is a word formed by the contraction of affluence and influenza. John de Graaf coined the term, defining it as a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste, resulting from the dogged pursuit of more. Another defines it as The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses. Advertising creates consumer culture. Many products are targeted at youth- iPods, designer clothing, fast food, and toys (especially those with television and movie linkages). Thanks in large part to the internet, youth in America now glimpse 3000 ads per day. Our ability to choose which items we want to desire is our introduction to consumerism. And many of us confuse this plethora of selections with freedom. We identify with others who have made similar choices in clothing, sports gear, or mp3 players. Brand names and brand logo- we pay to wear clothing that advertises our choices in the so-called Free market. None of this is brand new, consumer science has been around for decades. British documentarian Adam Curtis produced a brilliant series called Century of the Self in 2002 which explores the evolution of the consumer with great insight into the influence of Sigmund Freud and Edward Bernays. Adbusters is a Canadian foundation created in 1989 to subvert consumerism and protect the environment. Canadian author Naomi Klein wrote No Logo: Taking Aim At The Brand Bullies in 1999. And in 2004 Susan Linn wrote a book called Consuming Kids- The Hostile Takeover of Childhood, which became a video released in 2008. This last video, Consuming Kids, points out that children personally spend $40 billion a year in America, and influence parental spending of $700 billion per year. Thus advertising agencies have taken to what Susan Linn calls scientific stalking, to find the triggers that make children want objects and foods in ads. Further, companies have developed ways to increase the nag factor, so that children will aggressively insist on certain products that they really know nothing about. Ms Linn describes the advertisers approach as rewiring childhood, and points out that consumer scientists discovered that infants recognize brand logo at 6 months old, before they visually recognize words. And they are using this kind of information to produce a generation of super-consumers. Some of you make think that this shouldn t matter, since consuming things is essential in a capitalistic society. The American childhood marketing industry is worth $15 billion annually, and they say the control of childhood advertising should be up to the parents. The United States stands alone as a developed country with no regulations on childhood marketing. Lawmakers continually reject proposals to control commercial influence on youth, saying advertisers are protected by the First Amendment, the right of Free Speech. Yet they safeguard children by enacting laws requiring children to wear bicycle helmets. We hope that you are interested in Consuming Kids and will want to participate. We re at the Willits Studio and our phone number will be 456-9991. We will encourage everyone to join in the discussion in about 20 minutes. Let s begin by talking about consumerism and affluenza. ************************************ We re going to open the phone lines now. The phone number is 707 456-9991. Everyone is welcome to call, and we d especially like to encourage the youth, their parents, teachers, and concerned friends in the listening audience. Please call in if you have questions or insights on marketing to youth and consumer culture. Should young people be protected from marketing schemes? Should advertisers be restrained from promoting food and other products that may harm young peoples health? Is it solely the responsibility of parents to limit advertising directed at their children? How can you teach children to avoid being influenced by commercials? Is consumer culture a factor in environmental destruction? How can young people grow up free of consumer culture? Do you tend to associate with people who wear the same kind of clothes, or drive the same kind of cars as you? Do you go into debt to express your love at Christmas? Is consumerism essential for a successful capitalist society? Is an unregulated marketplace a requirement in a democracy?