Media Saturation...

I watched the video on how children are marketed as consumers from the day they are born, and past the age of becoming consenting adults. Its seems really absurd but it never completely dawned on me how much we really are saturated in the media. From the time that we can recognize certain cartoon characters and thier corresponding gadgets we begin to harrass our parents to purchase them for us and because they essentially want the happiness of their children they give in. And they think'after all it's just one toy.' However, it's not just one toy, it accumulates and then becomes our consuming habit that we try to avert from as adults. They lead to the maxed out credit cards and overdue payments. I can remember when I was younger I saw these commercials on tv about the "techno dog." I thought the techno dog was the coolest thing. I kept hinting to my parents that I wanted the toy so badly. The more I saw the commercial the higher the desire was for the techno dog. The final straw was when my best friend got one and I decided that the "entire world"(one other person in the 4th grade) had one so I definitely had to get one. So ofcourse I got money for my birthday and purchased the dog. My parents and I bought into the propaganda and got sucked into the consumer hype. It's really sad how children at such young ages are targeted so much by the media and yet it doesnt even occur to us. We deem it normal to be part of the mass consuming culture. In the video some of the people interviewed made a comment about how little children are at the stage where "they form their values and adequites." I think it's really hard for a child to not be sucked into the consumer culture when at the age when they develop values and adequites, they are bombarded by media coming at them. On a lighter note with so many horrific things that children are exposed to, it's no wonder that toys companies and other media target children so much, it eases the bad in the world when children are sucked into media... Personally when something bad happens, to take my mind off that bad day, I do want to go shopping, or use the computer, or text, or listen to music, etc. But there is a point where one must draw the line...