The Influence of Consumerism on 7

The contemporary business environment is becoming very competitive, thanks to globalization and technological advancement. The increased competition is now forcing organizations to adopt powerful strategies in order to gain competitive advantage. It is for this reason that consumerism has gained popularity, with business enterprises investing heavily in promotion of their products in order to influence purchasing behaviour of target markets.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Influence of Consumerism on 7-11 Years Children specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Indeed, the consumer market seems to be the biggest driver of economic development in most countries, as it continues to grow as the economy and population grow. Therefore, marketing becomes an integral function in organizations, where different organizations use persuasive and manipulative techniques and strategies to convince or change perceptions of consumer s to purchase their products and services (Schor, 2004). Nowadays, most organizations are focusing on children as a niche market with potentially sustainable growth and profitability. Although this may be a move in the right direction for businesses and society in terms of commercial empowerment, there is a dark side, especially in relation to social and health wellbeing of children (Palmer, 2010). This paper will critically discuss the effect of consumerism on children aged 7-11 years. In the past generations, parents dictated children’s consumer behaviour by purchasing things (toys, sweets, clothes among other children stuff) that they felt their children needed or deserved to have. This was mainly based on necessity and affection, but there was no significant influence from outside to do so. However, social changes in recent years have allowed children to have a commanding influence on their consumption patterns, thanks to ever-increasing advertisements and pressure from p eers (Evans Chandler, 2006). Today, many organizations are advertising their products directly to children with the knowledge that children have become more empowered and their psychological faculties can easily be manipulated or persuaded to like the products offered (Hulbert, 2004). Indeed, every organization will target a market that would be positively responsive to its products.  According to Schor (2004), children are nowadays being used as the conduit for marketing products to parents, especially due to their passionate consumption behaviour, brand loyalty, and tendency to learn fast. Generally, marketers focus on children based on three key roles they play as consumers including, controlling a big niche market, influencing family purchasing behaviour and brand loyalty. However, several other factors have contributed to increased consumerism and marketing being directed to children. Children at the age of 7 to 11 have their own purchasing power due to pocket money given to them by their parents; however, they do not have mental capacity to make informed decision about wants and needs (Hill, 2011).Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition, peer pressure tends to be setting in during this age, thus influencing children to purchase things that will make them compete with their peers. Moreover, families are trying to alleviate their children from threats of stigmatization and social identity by purchasing things to their children that will make them socially compatible with other children (Hamilton, 2011). Indeed, it is worth noting that modern parents have compromised their control on children’s purchasing influence (Herbst, 2005) by yielding easily to children’s pestering and giving out money (or items) to them out of guilt for not spending enough time with them due to professional engagements. Consumerism culture has adverse repercuss ions in children, especially in their social development. Importantly, since children do not have the capacity to make informed decisions, they are vulnerable to manipulation (Roche, 2009). In recent years, advertisement efforts by organizations have gone a notch higher to segment children market into age groups in order to capture more attention. Importantly, children at the age of 7-11 years are beginning to identify their true gender and tend to associate themselves with popular culture; so they will demand products that make them look cool, in reference to advertisements. Here, peer pressure plays a big role as children try to compete against each other in terms of possession and coolness (Là ¼sted, 2010). Indeed, children construct their identity by having a large collection of brands (Archer, Hollingworth, and Halsall, 2007). Moreover, children can easily identify the most endearing brands and labels, and they can skillfully use their little consumer knowledge to acquire thes e things (Pilcher, 2011). Indeed, it becomes very easy for children to participate in impulse purchases due to the amount of pocket money given to them by parents and their ability to influence parents to purchase for them. Indeed, Buckingham (2013) claims that children would influence parents and the society to accept something due to emotional connection that exists between them and the society would also respond quickly if something is harmful to the children. The social platform set by the contemporary marketers is eroding children’s values as they try to define their true self, because of bombarding them with so many products, which make them believe happiness is found from accumulation of possessions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Influence of Consumerism on 7-11 Years Children specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Indeed, this is becoming immoral, as it is not only interfering with their psycholog ical health, but also their personal growth and development, especially because they are denied important tools (such as social, spiritual and intellectual) to respond appropriately to different situations (Schor, 2004). Consumerism is also interfering with the health of children; no wonder there are increased cases of child obesity and depression (Dittmann, 2004). Nowadays, parents prefer to buy ready or easy-to-cook food from fast food shops or retail shops due to lack of time or boredom to prepare healthy food as they used to do before. Importantly, marketers are taking this advantage to promote fatty, sugary and fast foods to children with the confidence of huge sales, the result of which is increasing cases of obese children due to consumption of these foods usually marketed as fun and cool (Gorman, 2008). Moreover, cases of drug abuse among children have increased due to the advertisements aired during children shows as well as sponsorship of children concerts and events by to bacco or alcohol companies (Schor, 2004). The excess reliance on toys, especially play stations and computer games by children is eroding the social and cognitive development aspect in children. Unlike in the past where children used to play with their neighbor’s children, modern children have their play stations and television as their best friends (Piachaud, 2007). Therefore, children are focusing more on their materialist possessions in expense of family and friendship. Moreover, some video games are training children to be violent instead of morally upright individuals, and this may justify the recent cases of violence and shooting in schools, especially in the US. Unsurprisingly, cases of mental disorder and depression have increased due to exposure to advertisements that have adverse psychological effect on children. Protection of this future generation is of paramount importance, and it should be a concerted effort by all stakeholders. Primarily, there needs to be regu lations on advertisements in order to prevent children from exposure to excess material that may alter their self-perceptions or behaviour. Indeed, regulations have worked in several countries that have limited or eliminated commercials during children’s programming and events, including Greece, Norway, Italy, and Austria among others (Hawkes, 2004, p.19). Another remedy lies with the parents who must nurture their children to be morally upright people. Parents should train their children about money management and consumer behaviour, as well as control the amount they give to children as pocket money.Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They should know that children of this age have some knowledge about what money is, they would tend to imitate their parents’ spending habits (Pfund, 2011), and they are vulnerable to peer pressure; therefore, guidance is important. Parents would also be in a better position to control their children’s exposure to harmful advertisements that influence their consumption behaviors (Palmer Young, 2003). Finally, the society plays a big role in protecting its members from harmful effects. Primarily, children need a clean and safe environment to grow and develop, thus any advertisements that tend to be manipulative or directed to children must be thoroughly regulated. As seen above, corporations target children because they wield a lot of power in influencing consumption in families and they tend to be sustainable target market due to their brand loyalty. However, they become victims to social ineffectiveness, lifestyle illnesses, and mental disorders. Therefore, all stake holders should unite and create an atmosphere that inhibits consumerism from destroying these innocent consumers. References Archer, L., Hollingworth, S., Halsall, A. (2007). University’s not for me – I’m a Nike person: urban, working class young people’s negotiations of style, identity and educational engagement. Sociology, 41(2), 219–237. Buckingham, D. (2013). The Material Child. London, England: John Wiley Sons. Dittmann, M. (2004). Protecting children from advertising. American Psychology Association, 35(6). Evans, J., Chandler, J. (2006). To Buy or not to Buy: Family Dynamics and Children’s Consumption. Sociological Research Online, 11(2). Gorman, M. (2008). Childhood obesity statistics and facts. National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutes. Web. Hamilton, K. (2011). Low-Income Families and Coping Through Brands: Inclusion or Stigma? Sociology, 46(1), 75-90. Hawkes, C. (2004). Food to children: The glo bal regulatory environment. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. Herbst, M. (2005). Advertising to Children. Norderstedt, Germany: GRIN Verlag. Hill, J. (2011). Endangered childhoods: how consumerism is impacting child and youth identity. Media Culture Society, 33(3), 347-362. Hulbert, A. (2004). Tweens â€Å"R† us. The New York Times. Web. Là ¼sted, M. (2010). Advertising to Children. Minnesota, USA: ABDO, 2010. Palmer, E. L., Young, B. M. (2003). The faces of televisual media: Teaching, violence, selling to children. New Jersey, USA: Lawrence Erlbaum. Palmer, S. (2010). Toxic Childhood: How The Modern World Is Damaging Our Children And What We Can Do About It. London, England: Orion. Pfund, F. (2011). Advertising to Children. Norderstedt, Germany: GRIN Verlag. Piachaud, D. (2007). Freedom to be a Child: Commercial Pressures on Children. London, England: Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion. Pilcher, J. (2011). No logo? Children’s consumption of fashio n. Childhood, 18 (1) 128-141. Roche, M. (2009). Children, Consumerism, and the Common Good. London, England: Rowman Littlefield. Schor, J. B. (2004). Born to buy: the commercialized child and the new consumer culture. New York: Scribner. This essay on The Influence of Consumerism on 7-11 Years Children was written and submitted by user Abr1l to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

How to Use Focus Groups in Marketing Research

How to Use Focus Groups in Marketing Research Focus groups are a form of qualitative research that is commonly used in product marketing and marketing research, but it is a popular method within sociology as well. During a focus group, a group of individuals- usually 6-12 people- is brought together in a room to engage in a guided discussion of a topic. Lets say youre beginning a research project on the popularity of Apple products. Perhaps you want to conduct in-depth interviews with Apple consumers, but before doing that, you want to get a feel for what kinds of questions and topics will work in an interview, and also see if consumers might bring up topics that you wouldnt think to include in your list of questions. A focus group would be a great option for you to talk casually with Apple consumers about what they like and dont like about the companys products, and how they use the products in their lives. The participants of a focus group are selected based on their relevance and relationship to the topic under study. They are not typically chosen through rigorous, probability sampling methods, which means that they do not statistically represent any meaningful population. Rather, participants are chosen through word-of-mouth, advertising, or  snowball sampling, depending on the type of person and characteristics the researcher is looking to include. Advantages of Focus Groups There are many advantages of a focus group: As a socially oriented research method, it captures real-life data in a social setting.It is flexible.It has high face validity, meaning that it measures what it is intended to measure.It generates quick results.It costs little to conduct.Group dynamics often bring out aspects of the topic or reveal information about the subject that may not have been anticipated by the researcher or emerged from individual interviews. Disadvantages of Focus Groups On the downside: The researcher has less control over the session than he or she does in individual interviews.Data can sometimes be difficult to analyze.Moderators require certain skills.Differences between groups can be troublesome.Groups can often be difficult to pull together.The discussion must be conducted in a conducive environment. Basic Steps In Conducting a Focus Group Some basic steps should be involved when conducting a focus group, from preparation to data analysis. Preparing For the Focus Group: Identify the main objective of the focus group.Carefully develop your focus group questions. Your focus group should generally last 1 to 1 1/2  hours, which is usually enough time to cover 5 or 6 questions.Call potential participants to invite them to the meeting. Focus groups generally consist of six to 12 participants who have some similar characteristic (e.g., age group, status in a program, etc.). Select participants who are likely to participate in discussions and who don’t all know each other.Send a follow-up invitation with a proposed agenda, questions up for discussion, and time/location details.Three days before the focus group, call each participant to remind them of the meeting. Planning the Session: Schedule a time that is convenient for most people. Plan the focus group to take between 1 and 1 1/2 hours. Lunchtime or dinnertime is usually a good time for people, and if you serve food, they are more likely to attend.Find a good setting, such as a conference room, with good airflow and lighting. Configure the room so that all members can see each other. Provide nametags as well as refreshments. If your focus group is at lunch or dinnertime, be sure to provide food as well.Set some ground rules for the participants that help foster participation and keep the session moving along appropriately. For example- 1. Stay focused on the subject/question, 2. Keep the momentum of the conversation going, and 3. Get closure on each question.Make an agenda for the focus group. Consider the following: Welcome, review of agenda, review of the goal of the meeting, review of ground rules, introductions, questions and answers, and wrap up.Don’t count on your memory for information shared at the focus group. Plan to record the session with either an audio or video recorder. If this isn’t possible, involve a co-facilitator who takes good notes. Facilitating the Session: Introduce yourself and your co-facilitator, if you have one.Explain your need and reason for recording the focus group discussion.Carry out the agenda.Carefully word each question to the group. Before a group discussion, allow everyone a few minutes to carefully record his or her responses or answers. Then, facilitate discussion around the answers to each question, one at a time.After the discussion of each question, reflect back to the group a summary of what you just heard. If you have a note-taker/co-facilitator, he or she may do this.Ensure even participation among the group. If a few people are dominating the conversation, then call on others. Also, consider a round-table approach in which you go in one direction around the table, giving each person a chance to answer the question.Close the session by thanking the participants and telling them that they will receive a copy of the report generated as a result of the discussion. Immediately After the Session: Verify that the audio or video recorder worked throughout the entire session (if one was used).Make any additional notes on your written notes that you need.Write down any observations you made during the session, such as the nature of participation in the group, any surprises of the session, where and when the session was held, etc. Updated  by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.