The Effects of Brand Names on Kids
Brand name products are those products that are identifiable not just by their function but also by their manufacturer. In some cases, brand names are so recognizable, they come to stand for the products themselves, as with Kleenex, Tylenol and Post-It. Brand names are so pervasive, it is no wonder that they have been argued to have potentially deleterious effects on children.
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Brand Worship
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Author Kevin Robert positively describes brand worship as evidence of a brand lovemarks. He believes lovemarks are those qualities of a product or company that inspire blind loyalty to that particular product.
Roberts describes lovemarks and brand worship as things that consumers naturally seek but Douglas Rushkoff, in the PBS Frontline documentary "The Persuaders,"posits that lovemarks and brand worshipping are one of a vast array of tools companies use to control consumer spending. Rushkoff points out that once convinced to worship a specific brand in their childhood, people are likely to remain loyal to that brand throughout their life, regardless of any disadvantage such loyalty might cause.
Peer Pressure
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Recognizing children's natural proclivity and sensitivity to peer pressure, Dr. Elisa Medhus argues in "Are We Raising Brand Followers?" that brand names inspire children who do not have access to brand names to feel unduly pressured by the mere presence of those brands in the lives of other children. This is particularly prevalent in clothing and other visible brand name items. In this way, Medhus believes brand names can lead to bullying and other psychologically damaging behavior among children.
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Approval Seeking
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In line with brand names promotion of peer pressure and bullying, Medhus believes that children who feel pressured to buy, use and wear brand name products are exhibiting approval-seeking behavior. While she believes that children are predisposed to such behavior, she also believes continued emphasis on the importance of brand names makes approval-seeking periods of one's childhood last through adolescence and into young adulthood.
Discouragement of Introspection
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Both Medhus and Rushkoff agree that society's continued promotion of brand names, and children's beliefs that brand names are important, fundamentally degrades children's ability to reflect on their decision-making processes. While Medhus goes as far as to refer to this degradation of decision-making processes as "brainwashing," Rushkoff posits a subtler conclusion, maintaining that such degradation affects a child's sense of not just their aesthetic sense of what to wear or what not to wear, but also their moral sense of what is right and what is wrong.
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References
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