The way we view the changes in technology might just prove to be a very bad thing for our kids. Take this story in USA Today, for example. Parents are furious that their preadolescent girls are bombarded with sexuality through ads from retailers that are marketing products more appropriate for women. The ads are going directly to their daughters' cell phones.
Obviously this problem is best handled by trying to force retailers to change their ad tactics. Because heaven forbid we question the parents' decision to give their 8-year-old a cell phone?
Also under fire are mature clothing and makeup lines marketed to girls as young as six. Peggy Orenstein, mother of a 7-year-old, and writer of Cinderella Ate My Daughter, is even bothered by her daughter's request for fingernail polish in preschool. Apparently Peggy never dresses nice, or wears fingernail polish. Her daughter had to have gotten the idea from the media.
And I sit here utterly stumped. Because my girls watched Disney. My girls had makeup kits to play with when they were 2, and intentionally painted their faces to look like clowns, not the pretty cartoon princesses they watched religiously on television. And these days? At ages 10-13? They're really not into makeup. A little eyeshadow, sometimes. A dab of blush. Some funky color on their nails once in a while, just like Mom, not Nicki Minaj.
Parents! You're right. The marketing industry doesn't have your childrens' best interests at heart. They are more worried about money than your kids' mental and physical safety. Their job is to bring in money, not parent your kids. So why not let them do their job, while you continue to do yours?
Obviously this problem is best handled by trying to force retailers to change their ad tactics. Because heaven forbid we question the parents' decision to give their 8-year-old a cell phone?
Also under fire are mature clothing and makeup lines marketed to girls as young as six. Peggy Orenstein, mother of a 7-year-old, and writer of Cinderella Ate My Daughter, is even bothered by her daughter's request for fingernail polish in preschool. Apparently Peggy never dresses nice, or wears fingernail polish. Her daughter had to have gotten the idea from the media.
And I sit here utterly stumped. Because my girls watched Disney. My girls had makeup kits to play with when they were 2, and intentionally painted their faces to look like clowns, not the pretty cartoon princesses they watched religiously on television. And these days? At ages 10-13? They're really not into makeup. A little eyeshadow, sometimes. A dab of blush. Some funky color on their nails once in a while, just like Mom, not Nicki Minaj.
Parents! You're right. The marketing industry doesn't have your childrens' best interests at heart. They are more worried about money than your kids' mental and physical safety. Their job is to bring in money, not parent your kids. So why not let them do their job, while you continue to do yours?
Yes and yes. The only time I question companies are when they make g-strings or padded bathing suits for girls in elementary school. I mean, it's up to parents not to purchase those items for their young children, but I have to wonder what on earth would cause a company to think that is a good idea.
"The marketing industry doesn't have your childrens' best interests at heart. They are more worried about money than your kids' mental and physical safety. Their job is to bring in money, not parent your kids. So why not let them do their job, while you continue to do yours?"
Why do you champion the marketing industry's "right" to manipulate and exploit children for financial gain? Why are you putting all of the blame on parents for buying their kid a cell phone, when the problem is so blatantly and transparently the fact that companies are allowed to market this crap to children with no regard whatsoever for, well, anything beyond their own profit? How is that justified in any way?
Why do you champion the marketing industry's "right" to manipulate and exploit children for financial gain? Why are you putting all of the blame on parents for buying their kid a cell phone, when the problem is so blatantly and transparently the fact that companies are allowed to market this crap to children with no regard whatsoever for, well, anything beyond their own profit? How is that justified in any way?
What I'm championing is good parenting and personal responsibility. It's not society's responsibility to make sure your (general, not specific) children get the message you want them to receive. It's yours.
It's a hard pill to swallow, but the marketing industry didn't just spring up out of nowhere. We, as consumers, created it. Clothing companies market padded bathing suit tops and shorts with "juicy" on the ass to children because parents buy them thinking it's "cute". Until someone makes a pass at their 14-year-old, that is.
You want these companies to stop making ad campaigns for grown-up things geared toward little girls? Stop buying grown-up things for your little girls. Like cellphones, for example.
You should probably actually READ Peggy's book, because she actually has research into the marketing industry to back her up. You are greatly under-estimating the influence of aggressive marketing and advertising and sexualized imagery.
Sure, parents need to be more responsible and not buy some of these things for their kids. But do you really think it's all that simple? It isn't.
I also think you should find some credible data to prove your claims that the marketing industry is no-fault here. Because I think you'll be quite surprised what you find. *Hint: it's not in your favor.*