Consumer Kids

In this article I give a summary of some of the main findings of the book “consumer kids” by Ed Mayo and Agnes Nairn. It looks at some of the findings about spending, TV and food, and then focuses on use of the Internet. I also give my own views about the findings.

Children are not born materialists: they acquire their values!

Kids who are materialistic also argue more with their parents and are more likely to think that their mum and dad are boring. And they also are confronted with a business world, which values money above all else as the measure of success.

Children and teenagers in the UK spend £12 billion out of their own pocket. Teenagers spend their own money on sweets, soft drinks, crisps and snacks. And also clothes, music, films, and other stuff they like or need.

£12 billion is only a small part of the astonishing total value of the children’s market in the UK. The seller knows more then anyone how to attract children to get round their parents and how to make parents feel good by saying ‘yes’ and spending their money.

58% of children watch TV during meals. Children living in poorer areas are six times more likely to watch TV during eating the evening meal on weekdays, four times more likely to watch TV before going to sleep, four times more likely to watch TV in the morning before going to school, and nine times more likely to have the telly during Sunday lunch – when compared with other children.

There are children who are malnourished and obese in the very same village, even in the very same family. Even if children were as active as their 50s forbears, they would still be losing out in comparison in terms of several key nutrients, such as fibre, calcium, vitamins and iron.

What is needed is a response to the issues of diet and nutrition as consistent and coherent as the decades-long road safety strategy.

Obesity, or being overweight, is not a disease. But it can cause problems to your life. These are the problems that obesity can cause:

• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Cholesterol
• Clogged arteries
• Psychological problems
• Distress

Boys: eat nearly four times as many biscuits as green vegetables (by weight).

Girls: eat over four times as many sweets and chocolates as green vegetables (by weight).

Today the world is changed and it’s still changing everyday with new technologies. Almost a quarter of children in the UK surf on the net away from their parents; the screen time total in a year is about 2,000 hours.

A survey asked parents “From where do your children currently use the Internet including e-mail, the World Wide Web or commercial on-line services? “. The results were:

• Home: 70%
• School/preschool: 56%
• Friends/relative homes: 9%
• Library: 6%

Only 3% of children never access the Internet. www.miniclip.com is the most popular children’s games site and actually it has 34 millions accounts. But there are also bad websites for example: www.stupidvideos.com. I think that when children watch videos in this website they can copy what people do in these videos; it can be violent and stupid. That’s one reason why there is lots of crime today, children “learn” from those websites.

Half of the children using the Internet are exposed to pornography; and a third of children receive unwanted sexual comments via e-mail, text or chat. Some kids are still arranging face-to-face meetings with people they talk to online, despite warnings about the dangers of Internet chat rooms. And 60% of children do not know that people they chat to online might not be who they say they are.

Most Teenager use sites such as: msn, Bebo, facebook, myspace, etc… to talk to their friends, and some people like to get to know new people on-line. This can include blog or journal entries, pictures, videos and other information about their daily lives. The book says that teenagers have become addicted to using these sites.

Most teenagers stay on-line late at night. They close computer applications when a parent/guardian/adult walks into the room They download files with the suffix .jpg, .gif; .bmp, .tif, .pcx (These indicate images or pictures). They also have phone calls or mail from strangers.

I’ve done research and found a list of ways to make sure young people are safe online:

• They mustn’t give out personal information (Name, Address, Age, School, Birthday, Phone Number, etc.) so they choose a screen name that doesn't identify any personal information. Examples of bad screen names: saragirl15, tommyboy, girl-in-denver, babygirl12.
• Don't share your password with anyone except your parents. Not even your best friend.
• Do not respond to unwanted, mean, offensive or threatening e-mail, chat room dialogue, or instant messages.
• Don't send pictures of yourself to someone you don't know.
• NEVER agree to meet someone you met on the Internet. Remember people online may or may NOT be who they say they are.
• Promise to tell an adult if you ever feel uncomfortable while online.

By Julia Casisa
Work experience student at NCB
February 2009

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of NCB.