Thanks to Ads, Kids Won't Take No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No for an Answer
American Teens Feel Pressure to Want More, Nag More, New Survey Shows
Advertising at its best is making people feel that without their product
you're a loser. Kids are very sensitive to that. If you tell them to buy
something, they are resistant. But if you tell them they'll be a dork
if they don't, you've got their attention.
- Nancy Shalek, former president of Grey Advertising
Most parents understand the "nag factor" all too well. They know that their kids are bombarded by ads telling them to buy certain products in order to be popular. Then comes the nagging. According to a new national survey of youth commissioned by the Center for a New American Dream, the average American child aged 12-17 who asks their parents for products they've seen advertised will ask nine times until their parents finally give in. For parents of so-called "tweens," the problem is particularly severe - amazingly, more than ten percent of 12-13 year olds admit to asking their parents more than fifty times for products they've seen advertised.
The unfortunate fact is that kids feel an overwhelming need to buy a host of consumer goods in order to fit in. According to the study, nearly a third surveyed admitted feeling pressure to buy things like clothes, shoes and CDs because their friends have them. More than half confessed that buying certain products makes them feel better about themselves.
"Parents and their kids are behind the eight ball," says Betsy Taylor, executive director of the Center for a New American Dream. "As a result of unprecedented levels of advertising and marketing aimed at kids, our children feel intense pressure to try to bolster their sense of self-esteem at the mall, and they will go to incredible lengths to get their parents to give in."
Advertisers Strike it Rich Targeting Kids
Advertisers now spend more than $230 billion a year, or $2,190 per household, according to advertising giant McCann-Erickson, and there is little question that much of that advertising is designed to effectively target kids. Kids 12-19 spent a record $155 billion of their own money in 2001, up from $63 billion just four years earlier. And according to kids marketing expert James McNeal, children aged 12 and under influenced more than $500 billion of their parents' purchases in 2000.
Brochure Offers Practical Tips for Parents
Fortunately, there is much that parents can do to protect their kids from the pressure to buy more and get more. The Center for a New American Dream has just released an updated brochure called Tips for Parenting in a Commercial Culture, which can be downloaded for free from www.newdream.org. Here are just a few ways parents can get started:
- Establish limits on how much "screen time" your children spend - both online and watching TV, and keep the computer and TV in public areas of the house.
- Watch TV with your kids and mute the television during commercial breaks, or watch commercials together and help your children understand advertisers' marketing techniques.
- Make dinnertime special. Try to have a meal together with the whole family - even if it's only once or twice a week.
- Teach your child the value of money by setting up a savings plan together.
- Don't give in to the "nag factor." If you don't approve of a particular purchase, hold your ground and make your children understand that no means no.
Poll Highlights *
Advertisers Preying on Kids' Self-Esteem
A majority of American youth buy things in an attempt to improve their self-esteem. More than half of those surveyed (53%) say that buying certain products makes them feel better about themselves.
- Twelve and thirteen year-olds are particularly vulnerable. More than three in five (62%) say that buying certain products makes them feel better about themselves.
Keeping Up With the Little Joneses a Big Problem
While advertisers spend billions to make young people try to feel good about spending money and having things, kids nevertheless feel a great deal of pressure to spend to fit in.
- Nearly a third of those surveyed (32%) admit feeling pressure to buy certain products, such as clothes, shoes and CDs because their friends have them.
- Twelve to thirteen year-olds are particularly affected - more than half (54%) admit to feeling such pressure.
No Means No…Until It Finally Means Yes
Among the vast majority of kids (81%) who ask their parents for money or permission to buy a product, 4 in 10 say they know in advance that their parents will disapprove of the purchase before they even ask. And nearly 6 in 10 keep nagging - on average 9 times - in the hopes they can get their parents to give in.
- This "keep asking strategy" is paying huge dividends for kids and marketers alike: 55% of young people surveyed say they are usually successful in getting their parents to give in.
- Four in ten (40%) say they have asked their parents for an advertised product they thought their parents would not approve of.
- Among these youth who have asked to buy products their parents disapprove of, nearly 6 in 10 (59%) say they do not give up - they keep asking in the hopes their parents will finally say yes. Children aged 12 to 13 (71%) are most likely to pursue this aggressive "nag factor" strategy.
- The average young person says they have to ask nine times before their parents give in and let them have what they want. Eleven percent of 12-13 year olds admit to asking their parents more than fifty times for products they've seen advertised.
* Poll commissioned by the Center for a New American Dream and conducted in May, 2002 by Widmeyer Communications. This information is based on a nationally representative telephone study of 750 American youth ages 12-17. The margin of error for the poll is +/- 3.5%.