Thursday, March 6, 2014

A Generation of Consumers

After watching the documentary “Consuming Kids”, I learned that today's generation of kids are the number one 

targeted consumer, but why?  Marketing companies have found that if targeted at a young age, a consumer can 

grow up with the product and stay loyal up into adulthood. For example, a child could watch a Ferrari commercial 

and beg his parents for one or save up for one when he is older, therefore staying loyal to the thought of owning 

the luxury vehicle. Marketing companies are not only persuading kids to buy their newest product, but also 

changing the way they look at life. Now days, it is very easy for a teen to get caught up in a television series, but 

are these shows giving off the right message? Some of the "good girls" in these television shows such as 

Victorious, ICarly, and many more are dressed rather inappropriately for the age groups they are trying to reach. 

Marketing companies know that young teens will look up to these young people and want to act and dress just 

like them. 

How do you think this all came to be? I believe that the parents of today's generation play a huge part in the way 

today's youth has become so infatuated with material possessions. If it weren't for the parents allowing their 

children to get exposed to raunchy television shows and commercials, then maybe kids wouldn't be so caught up 

in "got to have it all" lifestyle.  Adults are so weak and clueless when it comes to children, they really have no idea 

whats being stuffed down their child's throat. They think that their child will never become spoiled or that their 

child doesn't even know any name brands. News flash, you're child lives in one giant market and their gonna stay 

there until they can't fit any more stuff in their bedroom. Every child screams for attention and they believe haven 

what they see on television will make them happy. Whether you have the latest shoes from Steve Madden or the 

newest iPhone, life for today's generation is always going to be about what you have, where you saw it and how 

you begged mommy and daddy for it.





In the fascinating documentary “Generlation Like”, I learned that todays generation of kids are practically walking 

advertisements through the power of social media. Today's targeted consumers are teens because they are 

constantly talking about what they are wearing, where they got from, and why it’s cool. Why should a Marketing 

company spend money on production for a commercial when 1.2 million teens are already trending the product 

on Twitter? Its one thing to post a picture on Instagram of you wearing a knew and raving about it, but now teens 

are finding a whole new way of turning the likes they get on a photo into cash.



There used to be a time when Facebook was for meeting up with people that you haven't seen since grade 

school, now kids as young as thirteen are making money just by saying they like a certain product. One way 

many young people make money is threw the video sharing website YouTube. When you reach a certain amount 

of followers on Youtube, or "subscribers" marketing companies offer to send you money so they can post an 

advertisement for there product beside your video or have a commercial play before the video evens starts. 

These marketing companies pay so much money that posting videos on YouTube has actually become a career. 


It is absolutely astounding how most people don't even have to go to college anymore in order to find a 

successful career, all you have to do is look cute on camera, get a few thousand likes, get contacted by 

advertisers, and bam you're a millionaire. 


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