Children experience advertising in many different forms – on television, social media apps, YouTube, streaming services, movies, online games, magazines, and much more. And advertisements work well on children. For example, the more a child sees an advert for a specific toy, the more likely that child is to ask for it. Knowing this information, it is important for children to learn that advertisements are a marketing ploy. Companies attempt to influence the wants and needs of a person by trying to make you buy their product, and their attempts especially work when the advertisers make their products look better than they really are. Therefore, caregivers should be mindful of how products are advertised to children.
We have already covered some of the different forms of advertising, yet we have not touched on the different products that companies’ market towards children and how it affects them. Firstly, there is the food industry. The childhood obesity epidemic is a serious public health problem in the United States. Approximately 20% of American youth are overweight (American Psychological Association, n.d.). Obesity in childhood places children at risk for developing health issues, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. So, what does this have to do with consumerism? Well, research has found strong associations between increases in advertising for non-nutritious foods and rates of childhood obesity. Most children are unable to understand the persuasive intent of advertising, which causes advertising directed at children to be exploitative by nature.
Advertising is central to the marketing of the food industry. The United States food system is the second largest advertiser in the American economy, trailing behind the automotive industry (Story & French, 2004). Food advertisements are channeled through television, online platforms, and even in schools. The prevalence of these adverts influence children to crave unhealthy food products. Food ads on television make up about 50% of all ad time on children’s shows (American Psychological Association, n.d.), and with the hours of television children watch on average, this is a lot of exposure. Online marketing strategies are more complex as there are less boundaries in advertising online as there are on television. And unfortunately, commercialism has crept into the education system in America. To break this down, let’s look at how advertising and marking in schools can take on several forms: both direct (via sponsored programming) and indirect (via corporate-sponsored educational materials) advertising in classrooms and product sales contracts (regarding school relationships with food companies). The constant exposure of food advertising influences how children’s food environments are shaped and defined.
The beauty industry is another facet of capitalism that has impacted children. The idea of cosmetics for children tends to arise strong views among parents and caregivers. When should children start to wear makeup? How young is too young? How much is too much? Caregivers ask themselves these types of questions as beauty brands are heavily marketed to younger audiences. Companies use “ideal” beauty standards to sell products. For example, researchers in Belgium found that attractive models (versus less attractive models) increases buying intention for boys (Vermeir & Van de Sompel, 2014). While cosmetics and fashion can promote positive experiences for children, through creative expression, the beauty industry does encourage a sense of competition through “ideal” beauty standards which can be harmful to the psyche of the youth.
Research tells us that about 80% if 9-11-year-olds in the United States use beauty and personal care products (Mintel Press, 2016). Beauty awareness starts at a young age and YouTube has had a hand to play in its popularity. The beauty community on YouTube is large and influential. Makeup gurus, such as Jeffree Starr and Jaclyn Hill, have upwards of 5 million subscribers ranging in all ages and genders. Their subscriber count alone is large enough to make a substantial impact on beauty standards. YouTubers with large platforms are able to collaborate with different companies to promote certain products to their audience. The beauty community is notorious for doing so, collaborating with skin care brands or certain cosmetic lines to push a product. The social power that the YouTubers have easily influences their audiences to become consumers of these products.
Being consumers of these products can cause all sorts of effects. Children can become insecure about their physical features due to the lack of representation the beauty industry provides. However, certain companies are attempting to change the narrative about said beauty standards. Back in 2013, Dove released a campaign that focused on defeating self-esteem issues within children. The beauty company interviewed schoolgirls in Lisbon and found that 6 out of 10 girls stopped doing something they loved because they felt uncomfortable about their appearance (Stampler, 2013). In this case, the beauty company used its power and resources to promote an important discussion about beauty standards.It all comes down to communication. Discussing these different facets of consumerism is key to teaching children about capitalism. Caregivers should take these facts and ideas into consideration when raising children in an attempt to educate kids on the dangers of marketing ploys. Once children learn and understand how to distinguish advertisements, they will begin to mark the positive and negative effects of advertising and (hopefully) avoid being taken advantage of.
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). The impact of food advertising on childhood obesity. https://www.apa.org/topics/obesity/food-advertising-children
Mintel Press. (2016). Beauty Is Child’s Play: 80% Of Us Tweens Use Beauty And Personal Care Products. https://www.mintel.com/press-centre/beauty-and-personal-care/beauty-is-childs-play-80-of-us-tweens-use-beauty-and-personal-care-products
Stampler, L. (2013). After ‘Real Beauty Sketches,’ Dove’s New Campaign Targets Kids. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/dove-carbon-paper-ad-promotes-childrens-self- esteem-2013-5
Story, M. & French, S. (2004). Food Advertising and Marketing Directed at Children and Adolescents in the US. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 1, 3. https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1479-5868-1-3