Is marketing to children making them more miserable?
In the UK, a new report on the “Commercialisation of Childhood” warns that children are rapidly becoming the innocent targets of companies hungry for their business, to the point that where 70% of them can recognise the McDonalds logo, only half remember their own surnames.Worse still, the evidence suggests that being bombarded with images of how they should look and what they should have, children struggle to keep up resulting in higher rates of depression. Not to mention the conflicts that arise when cash-strapped parents have to say no.
Both the Guardian & the Telegraph have their bits to say about this worrying trend.
We are beginning to see this happen in Malaysia too - for example, my three and half year old son has already started to receive direct mails from the company that makes his milk formula. He’s given fridge magnets and stickers on a regular basis, reminding him of his loyalty to the brand.
Those of us who are parents need to guard our children against the excesses of a consumerist society. Businesses who market to children need to realize that they must approach this issue in a responsible manner and that the almighty dollar must not overshadow even their morality.
technorati: malaysia, children, consumerist
posted by hew @ 2:34 pm
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