Let's de-commercialize childhood

With their undeveloped brains, our kids do not stand a chance against commercial advertising that is seductively aimed at them by very clever adults with millions of dollars at their disposal.

The Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood is a great idea whose time has come. As they say, we must de-commercialize childhood.  

As marketing to children intensifies, what can society do?

By Diane Levin and Christina Asquith

April 27, 2013 | Aljazeera

URL: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/04/2013425113926575488.html

Ah, the 'green' old days?

Very nice and point taken: older Americans didn't produce as much garbage as we do today; they re-used glass and paper bags, sometimes; and they washed and re-used cloth diapers... until 1970 when Pampers became a national brand.

Still, what this guy -- I guess technically not a Baby Boomer if he hit retirement age 5 years ago -- is saying is not so much untrue, as only part of the truth, which is that the Greatest Generation (1901-24), Silent Generation (1925-45), and then Baby Boomers (1946-64) each in their turn developed and promoted our modern American throw-away consumer culture.

They were not standing apart from it all these years, in their moral superiority, reminiscing about the good ole' days. They enthusiastically created this mess -- and profited nicely from it -- leaving the consequences (climate change; overflowing landfills; post-industrial ghost towns and urban blight; peak oil, etc.) to us "slackers" from Gens X and Y to handle.

I don't watch Mad Men, but I gather it's about Madison Avenue and the dawn of the ad age in the 1960s, when companies started selling us a lot of stuff we didn't necessarily need with catchy jingles; when convenience, especially around the house, was the operative word. These firms were staffed by the Greatest and Silent Generations. They pushed this way of life on us. So they can't shirk moral responsibility in their old age.

Commentary: The 'green' old days

By Bill Morem

March 10, 2012 | San Luis Obispo Tribune

URL: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/03/10/140832/commentary-the-green-old-days.html#storylink=cpy

Any advert creates 'internal battle' in your brain

The "self-control region [of the brain] is in a tug of war with the parts of the brain affected by ads."

This info raises yet more doubts about just how free is humans' free will. Second, it makes me think of the $ hundreds of millions in political campaign spending every year, most of which goes towards TV commercials. Are we really making informed political choices, or just responding to non-conscious cues?

The good news is that every time you think critically about how ads work, you create new patterns in your brain that strengthen the self-control regions. Unfortunately, that's also why marketers spend $17 billion a year targeting ads at children, who have not yet developed the capacity and experience for critical thinking. Companies are hoping they can hard-wire those buying tastes and habits in children at a tender age so they'll continue on into adulthood.

This Is Your Brain On Ads: An Internal 'Battle'

By Maya Cueva

June 15, 2011 | All Things Considered on NPR

URL: http://www.npr.org/137175622