I just read a very disturbing article in the New York Times about “Mommy and Daddy’s Little Life Coach” - the decision and purchasing power that children now have within a family.
“They think of their computer-savvy, plugged-in children as confidants, and so they look to them for advice on life decisions, as well as major purchases: cars, computers, vacation packages, real estate, home décor”.
I have been involved in marketing in some previous roles where we’ve talked about targeting the “savvy teen” and “tween” markets and it never sat comfortably with me. Maybe it’s because I was a big dag when I was a kid but the first I knew of brand names was when I started high school, I had no idea about music, fashion or anything else. The idea of my parents asking me about my opinion on a car or a house is laughable - they were the parents and they made the decisions. Perhaps luckily as I really wanted one of the 60’s VW beetles and I wanted to live in a castle that had a tower.
So I do find it quite sad that we do market to young children and even sadder that parents are relying on their children to help make decisions. I’ve not yet seen one single advertisement to tweens that is for something of their benefit - it’s all junk food, toys, gadgets and training bras. I was working for a telecom and involved in a campaign that targeted 10-15 year olds and essentially tried to make them feel like they would be outcasts if they didn’t have the latest model mobile phone. I left the company soon after that; I build websites, and trying to ostracise adolescents was not in my job description.
I didn’t start accessing the internet until I was about 17 so I am very curious as to how being a digital native is shaping the minds of the next generation. How much difference will being constantly connected actually have on a child’s personality or outlook in life? Will it actually fundamentally change who they are, or is it just the equivalent of us playing Super Mario Brothers until all hours, and just be another cultural reference when they are older - except instead of fondly remembering “Degrassi High” they look back on the Youtube video of that bride cutting off all her hair?
This post is tagged under: random thoughts
I think about this quite a bit - I loved being an early user of the internet, but then again what must it be like to just expect and know that the internet is always there?
Yeah it’s been a long time since I’ve thought “I wonder what…” and not had the answer at my fingertips. But it would have been so different going through school with information so readily available. I think I’d be one of those lazy kids that leaves assignments until the night before they’re due, then spends the night on wikipedia. :)
I wonder if now instead of Dads around the country bellowing “get off the bloody phone” they’re now shouting “get off bloody messenger”? I am so curious as to how it all works as a teenager/tween today.