Book Club Discussion Questions
For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, and our BookBrowse Review of Consuming Kids.
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
About This Book
Enticing ads on prime-time television, special promotions with McDonald's and other fast-food outlets, and corporate symbols and slogans on T-shirts, caps, backpacks, and morethey're all part of our children's everyday world. Once dominated by a few entertainment and toy companies, the onslaught of corporate come-ons directed at kids has exploded into an all-out battle that pitches the best intentions of parents against the commercial interests and formidable marketing budgets of gigantic corporations. With infant clothing festooned with designer logos, corporate-sponsored newscasts in schools, and popular teen idols representing the hottest brand names, the marketers' dream of winning customer loyalty from
"cradle to grave" is well on its way to becoming a reality.
In Consuming Kids, Susan Linn, a child psychologist and advocate, exposes the increasing intensity and sophistication of marketing to children. Drawing on the actual documents of well-known corporations, advertising agencies, media conglomerates, and professional marketing associations, she shows that companies deliberately devise campaigns which exploit the developmental vulnerabilities of the targeted age group, honing in on the specific cognitive, social, emotional, and physical skills that influence a child's likes, dislikes, desires, and decisions. Tales from parents and other caregivers besieged by requests for inappropriate products, as well as conversations with children make it clear just how effective these calculated campaigns are. The impact goes beyond the needless accumulation of material goods. Commercialization is stripping childhood of the benefits of play and creativity, inspiring undesirable behavior in our future citizens, and undermining society's ethical and moral values. Arguing that only a concerted response from the publicparents and teachers, policy makers and legislators, doctors and clergycan end the assault, Linn not only identifies the problems but also offers sound solutions.
Discussion Questions
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Linn cites the deregulation of advertising on children's television during the Reagan administration and the current laxity of laws limiting the formation of media conglomerates as major factors in the commercialization of childhood [p. 6]. What do these policies reflect about America's view of the role of government in society? How do the arguments for regulation stand up against those for deregulation? The advertising industry says that it is self-regulating adequately. Do you agree? Have recent political trends made the creation of vast mega companies like Viacom, Disney, and Time Warner inevitable? Could the negative impact of their reach and dominance have been predicted?
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From the invasion of Internet chat rooms to the employment of "cool" kids to hype various products,
"even traditional venues for spreading what used to be legitimately called popular cultureword of-mouth, for examplehave been co-opted by corporations" [p. 6]. A recent article in The New York Times Magazine noted that
"trendsetters" selected by corporations to promote their products are often unpaid volunteers. Why are teenagers particularly susceptible to assuming this role?
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Research shows that children today are reaching physical maturity earlier than previous generations (for instance, girls are entering puberty earlier than their mothers did, p. 27). What affect does this have on how children perceive themselves? Have these changes distorted society's attitudes about childhood? What are the challenges for girls reaching puberty earlier than their peers? What can society do to support them?
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- How does the author develop themes of identity and belonging throughout the narrative?
- What role does the setting play in shaping the characters' decisions and relationships?
- Discuss how the ending reframes the events of the story. Were you surprised?
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Anchor Books.
Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.