Teenage Consumerism: The Rationale and Results of Media Marketing

Media marketing is growing in proportion with the advance of many forms of technology and the increase of advertising. Magazines, television, the internet and other media sources have become strong sources of information in a teenager\u27s life. Finding it profitable, companies effectively target adolescents because of four common characteristics: their mass consumption of media, their spending habits, their trendsetting ability, and the vulnerability associated with youth. The effects that marketing institutes during adolescence include an increase in materialism as well as a commitment to brand loyalty. Although parents and peers lay the groundwork for the values that teenagers hold, media marketing is making an impact upon these values as well. Some effects go beyond the teenage years, such as the difficulty adjusting to living independently with limited luxuries and the urge towards becoming addicted to work. Solutions are limited, but include teaching financial responsibility and independence as well as helping teenagers set personal boundaries to heed