Childhood and Consumer Culture pp 17-30 | Cite as
Valves of Adult Desire: The Regulation and Incitement of Children’s Consumption
Abstract
A few years ago I was asked by the editor of a marketing journal to read and comment on a stack of articles by leading authorities in children’s consumer research. I was struck by how these papers focused on one basic issue: how children are socialized to become competent agents, capable of rationally evaluating advertising claims and purposes. Of course, many factors were explored, including the gender, racial, and social differences among child consumers. The authors suggested that knowledge about the child’s capacities could address simultaneously the interests of child protection advocates and of merchandisers (e.g. Goldberg, 1982; John 1999; Goldberg & Baumgartner, 2001).
Keywords
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