Teens are like Africa?
In class, I recently watched the Frontline film, "Merchants of Cool," which discussed marketing techniques used in the ever growing teen market. What struck me as particularly intriguing was the fact that the teen market today has much more sway than any teen market in the past. The teens of previous generations barely had a fraction of the money that teens today have at their disposal. For the first time in history, teenagers have enough money at their disposal to sway an enormous market.
Because of the fact that teens today have so much power as consumers, companies see the potential revenue in developing advertisements and products that appeal directly to teenagers. One quote from "Merchants of Cool" that stood out to me was that companies view teens as "Africa, like a country ready to colonize." I know subconsciously that teens are just being manipulated by companies in order to sell products and I dislike the fact that we are merely a platform for huge companies to make money off of.
The idea that teenagers are an enormous market for companies to bombard with various products that they want us to believe are "cool," is disheartening because it means that the things that are marketed towards us are not necessarily meant to be beneficial. Companies only want us to become consumers of their products. Therefore they do not care if what they are promoting is healthy for teenagers to be consuming.
Marketing towards teens seems to be increasingly sexual and uses techniques that some might say should be only directed towards adults. Most television shows made for teenagers are full of teen characters who are played by much older actors and actresses and often portray these characters as sexually active, rarely addressing the consequences that could occur. Stores that have a predominantly teen market like American Eagle or Pacsun sell increasingly smaller clothing that many parents would not have ever been allowed to leave the house in back when they were children. The sexual nature of marketing towards teens normalizes the idea that teens only really care about sex and should not be expected to have thoughts of more substance.
The standards have changed for the teenagers of today compared to the day of our parents' adolescence. Because teens have been colonized by companies that have recognized the enormous teenage market, we continue to buy into what companies market towards us. Companies sell questionable products and messages to teenagers under the rationalization that teens want these products. They are merely "giving teens what they want." But, the reality is that teens only want these products because they have bought into the messages that companies have sent out to them. Therefore, the mindset that teenagers can be colonized like Africa (which is a continent, not a country), has created a feedback loop in which teens buy into carefully marketed "cool" products and companies continue to create similar products, giving us "what we want."
Because of the fact that teens today have so much power as consumers, companies see the potential revenue in developing advertisements and products that appeal directly to teenagers. One quote from "Merchants of Cool" that stood out to me was that companies view teens as "Africa, like a country ready to colonize." I know subconsciously that teens are just being manipulated by companies in order to sell products and I dislike the fact that we are merely a platform for huge companies to make money off of.
The idea that teenagers are an enormous market for companies to bombard with various products that they want us to believe are "cool," is disheartening because it means that the things that are marketed towards us are not necessarily meant to be beneficial. Companies only want us to become consumers of their products. Therefore they do not care if what they are promoting is healthy for teenagers to be consuming.
Marketing towards teens seems to be increasingly sexual and uses techniques that some might say should be only directed towards adults. Most television shows made for teenagers are full of teen characters who are played by much older actors and actresses and often portray these characters as sexually active, rarely addressing the consequences that could occur. Stores that have a predominantly teen market like American Eagle or Pacsun sell increasingly smaller clothing that many parents would not have ever been allowed to leave the house in back when they were children. The sexual nature of marketing towards teens normalizes the idea that teens only really care about sex and should not be expected to have thoughts of more substance.
The standards have changed for the teenagers of today compared to the day of our parents' adolescence. Because teens have been colonized by companies that have recognized the enormous teenage market, we continue to buy into what companies market towards us. Companies sell questionable products and messages to teenagers under the rationalization that teens want these products. They are merely "giving teens what they want." But, the reality is that teens only want these products because they have bought into the messages that companies have sent out to them. Therefore, the mindset that teenagers can be colonized like Africa (which is a continent, not a country), has created a feedback loop in which teens buy into carefully marketed "cool" products and companies continue to create similar products, giving us "what we want."
I find it interesting that marketers rely on teenage consumers. I think that it may be because some teenagers today find themselves with summer jobs to earn money and not yet paying bills and taxes so they have more money to use on themselves then adults or even their parents do. I do not think however teenagers realize that they are being targeted to buy things, they probabaly just make purchases to own items that so many other people own as well.
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