youthmoney

How is big business tracking children online, watching their preferences, and then tempting them with offers they’ll find it impossible to resist?
Like this:
Let’s take an example. Laura, aged 9, signs up to a toy website so that she can make a Christmas list to send to all her friends and relatives. Already, she’s made public [...]

[Read more →]

What is the product or service most heavily advertised to young people?
I posed that question earlier in the week. It occurred to me following the launch of the inquiry into the commercialisation of childhood.
There’s nothing scientific about the answer I’m going to give. It’s not based on industry metrics. It is simply the astute observation of [...]

[Read more →]

“Many people think that children and young people are now shopping from a very young age and see lots of adverts which might influence what they buy.”
What people? People like the sometimes lucid Archbish of Canterbury: “The selling of lifestyles to children creates a culture of material competitiveness and promotes acquisitive individualism at the expense [...]

[Read more →]

Do some young people spend more than they can afford on showy goods, such as expensive trainers, electronic gadgets or jewellery? Do they, at the same time, neglect some basics that could give them more comfortable and secure lives in the future?
Yep. It’s a phenomenon that many will recognise.
Why do they do it?

[Read more →]