Like it or not, advertising to children is a towering industry, with children under 12 influencing over $130-670 billion a year in parental purchases (global issues). Companies in the U.S. alone spend up to $18 billion a year on these advertisements with the goal to create paying consumers as early as possible (Shah, 2010).
The development of consumer behavior occurs gradually and over the course of many years. For this reason, children of different ages are affected by persuasive media in different ways. Scholars Valkenburg and Cantor (2002) propose that there are four distinct phases of the development of consumerism throughout childhood. In the infant and toddler phase, a …
In the absence of proper legislation dictating when and to whom major brands can advertise to, parents must find alternative ways to shield their children from the negative effects of consumerism and social media. Some of these strategies include promoting media literacy in the home to better prepare children to recognize and resist persuasive media …