Читать книгу Essentials of Sociology - George Ritzer - Страница 119

The most controversial aspect of consumer culture may be the involvement of children (Sparman 2015). In a consumer culture, it is important that children be socialized into, and become actively involved in, consuming (Cook 2004; Pilcher 2013). Consumption by children has not always been valued, however. In fact, there were once strong norms against it. Children were not considered to be able to make informed choices about consumption and were therefore seen as even more susceptible than adults to exploitation by advertisers and marketers.

An important change began to take place in the mid-nineteenth century with the advent of department stores. Some stores offered supervised play areas so that parents could shop more easily. A key development by the mid-twentieth century was children’s sections in department stores; they were eventually subdivided into shops for babies, children, and teens. Also during this period, radio programs, movies, and TV shows were increasingly directed at children. Disney was a leader in this trend. TV shows of the 1950s, such as the Davy Crockett series (King of the Wild Frontier), prompted the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of simulated coonskin caps and other merchandise for children. More recently, children have come to be targeted directly by advertisers on Saturday-morning TV shows and cable channels such as Nickelodeon that specialize in children’s programming.

In fact, marketing aimed at children is now pervasive. This is portrayed in detail in the documentary Consuming Kids (2008). For example, the Walt Disney Company directly markets baby products, and thus the Disney brand, to new mothers in maternity wards. In schools, branded products are sold at book fairs, and corporate sponsorships adorn everything from sports stadiums to classroom supplies. Brands and logos are woven into textbook problems and examples. Market researchers observe the way in which children use and respond to products and advertising messages not just in focus groups and in the lab but also in natural settings such as school and the home. Marketers have also discovered the importance of the “pester power” of children. This is the ability of children to nag their parents into buying things. It is effective not only for selling children’s products but also for getting children to influence their parents’ purchases.

Overall, children are much more immersed in consumer culture today than ever before. They learn at an early age to value it as well as the norms involved in participating in it. As adults, then, they will fit well into a culture with consumption at its core.