Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture

The Book Description on amazon.com says: Sophisticated advertising strategies convince kids that products are necessary to their social survival. Ads affect not just what they want to buy, but who they think they are and how they feel about themselves. Based on long-term analysis, Schor reverses the conventional notion of causality: it's not just that problem kids become overly involved in the values of consumerism; it's that kids who are overly involved in the values of consumerism become problem kids. In this revelatory and crucial book, Schor also provides guidelines for parents and teachers. What is at stake is the emotional and social well-being of our children.
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This is scary stuff.

I heard this author interviewed about this book on NPR last week and looked it up online and read the reviews. It's a stunning expose on the advertising companies' tactics to market R rated movies to 9 yr olds and Seventeen magazine to pre-teens. I hope to check it out from the library to read it.

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May The Hair On Your Toes Never Fall Out

--Traditional Hobbit Blessing