Toys to Teens
by Victor C. Strasburger, Barbara J. Wilson and Amy B. Jordan
The article examines how advertising and popular media influence children and teenagers. Beginning with a child's desire for a heavily marketed toy, it explains techniques such as the nag factor and explores the need for media awareness, responsible consumption and safe behaviour in the cyberworld.
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- Example: Grace wants a Monster High doll after seeing related videos and games.
- Nag Factor: Advertising can encourage children to repeatedly ask parents for products.
- Marketing: Large amounts are spent on advertising directed at young consumers.
- Media Influence: Television, websites, games and other media can shape children's desires and behaviour.
- Digital Responsibility: The chapter also stresses cyberworld do's and don'ts such as protecting privacy and avoiding harmful online behaviour.
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Grace and the advertised toy
Eight-year-old Grace asks her mother for a Monster High doll called Draculaura. She learned about the dolls through a friend, videos and a computer game, and she knows that the character has an online presence. At a shopping mall she repeatedly asks for the doll until her mother gives in.
Advertising and children
The article explains that marketers increasingly target young consumers. Advertising does more than inform; it can create desires and influence children to ask for products they may not previously have wanted. The repeated pressure on parents is described through the idea of the 'nag factor'.
Media literacy
The discussion encourages readers to think critically about media messages instead of automatically treating advertised products as necessary. Children and parents need to distinguish genuine needs from commercially created desires.
The cyberworld
The textbook activities extend the discussion to responsible digital behaviour. Users are advised to protect personal information, avoid spreading rumours, check facts before sharing, respect privacy and copyright, and avoid hacking, password sharing and other harmful actions.