Ads that target the smallest consumers

Born to Buy

The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture

Juliet B. Schor

Scribner: 276 pp., $25

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Since when did children become the favored demographic of advertisers? In her latest book, “Born to Buy,” sociologist Juliet B. Schor dissects the implications of this disturbing trend and offers some startling conclusions.

Those who target children and preteens (or “tweens”) must know there is something problematic about doing so. The Boston College professor reports that her calls to the global advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi were never returned; she found MTV to be “polite, but nevertheless standoffish”; others restricted access or simply refused to talk.

It will surprise no one that the United States is the most consumer-oriented society in the world. As Schor notes, we work longer hours, save less and spend more than other industrialized countries. We drive bigger cars and own big TV sets. (The author estimates that there is nearly one set per person in this country.) And although more than a million U.S. households declare bankruptcy each year, there is no sign that rabid consumerism is slowing. In previous books, Schor explored the consequences of being overworked and spending too much. Perhaps it was inevitable that such problems would filter down to our nation’s children, but Schor set out to learn why and what could be done about it.

Children until recently were merely “bit players, purchasers of cheap goods” in the marketplace, approached mainly by way of their parents’ wallets, Schor writes. Now, kids and teenagers are “the epicenter of American consumer culture. They command the attention, creativity, and dollars of advertisers. Their tastes drive market trends. Their opinions shape brand strategies.” In 1999, an estimated $12 billion was spent advertising and marketing to children -- a figure she says has undoubtedly increased since then. A Nickelodeon study found that the average U.S. 10-year-old has memorized 300 to 400 brands.

Various factors explain why children are such hot commodities, Schor says: less emphasis on teaching children the value of thriving socially, creatively and intellectually, both at home and at school; the rise of youth-driven cable television; the growing market power and political influence of global corporations, including Disney and Coca-Cola; longer working hours and more pressures on parents’ time, which leads them to give kids what she calls “guilt money” and children to become consumers at an ever earlier age. These factors and more, she says, have led to a proliferation of children -- across race, gender and economic lines -- who yearn for the latest video games, toys, clothing and junk food. The world’s first mall catering exclusively to children opened in 1996 in Alpharetta, Ga., and is being copied successfully around the nation. If that isn’t depressing enough, Schor finds that youth consumerism correlates strongly with alcohol, drug and cigarette consumption, emotional and mental health problems, poor nutrition and obesity. As kids are spending more time with video games, TVs, cellphones and computers, and less time engaged in physical activity, they are showing a deterioration in general well-being and reporting increased levels of anxiety, she writes.

Schor disputes the argument that learning to make decisions about products empowers children: “If a kid buys a pair of Nike shoes and feels better about himself or herself because of them, then Nike’s ads may enhance self-esteem. But the messages are a double-edged sword because they also do the reverse, undermining self-worth.”

But the author doesn’t blame it all on the evils of television or advertising; she looks instead to parental attitudes about consumerism, education and family time. Spending money or watching TV isn’t bad, per se, she argues; what matters more, she concludes, is how children are taught to perceive such things and the value placed upon them. But Schor acknowledges the burdens of time and resources faced by lower-income and single-parent families.

Certain families interviewed as part of her extensive research offered useful lessons on managing children’s consumption and demand for material goods. The commonality, she writes, was parental attitudes toward money and spending that were “practical, respectful of children’s skills and decision-making abilities, and founded on values of balance and prudence.... The kids were learning valuable lessons about the world of commerce rather than being excluded from it.”

Schor advocates legislative changes to help reverse ever-increasing targeting of young children by advertisers. She also includes an appendix of contact information for various advocacy organizations.

What is a concerned parent to make of all this? Consider “Born to Buy” a wake-up call, and take it from there.