Tweenagers
Last week we had a lecture, during the lecture we were shown an episode of the series Parorama on tweenagers (8 to 12year olds) and branding. It was all about how different children react to brands of clothing and how much it influences their lives.
There were a few different children on the show; one whos parents would buy her anything she wanted for any price, a skater boy who belived he didn't follow trends and another girl who was controlled by her parents to not believe in trends and buy from charity shops.
My views on this were very mixed I couldn't believe some of the answers the children came out with. For example the child that was given everything she wanted said she would end her friendship with her friends if they did not wear designer brands. Her parents were completely sucked in by her views on brands as if her life would be over if she didn't get the lastest trend. It was on the level of her being completely spoilt and brainwashed by the advertising of these companies. I guess when she grows up she'l look back on that and cringe.
The boy who was into skating was subconsciously brainwashed by skating advertising companies. He believed that he was individual but he would go into well known skater brands to buy clothes from there. This just shows how clever branding companies are at advertising their names.
The other child was brainwashed but on a completely different level, her parents had influenced her into buying clothes from charity shops, I don't find anything wrong with this, it just seemed to me she didn't have an option. For me this girl had been given no choice to express herself individually in a way as she didn't get the choice to even look at brand companies or see what is 'in' at the moment. As she was home schooled she would never have this pressure, Ifeel that it restricts her from seeing what the real world is really like.
Everyone should have their own choice to follow what they like, or venture into different styles. I feel that the peer pressure to be 'cool' is quite sad as it does change children. They may not be able to show who they really are as that trend might not be 'in'.
That is why I do feel that school uniforms are a good idea. In one of my schools we did not have uniforms and honestly there was pressure to wear all the right things even though you didn't have the money to. I can happily say that I wasn't a major brand and trend follower and still did have alot of friends but for some people the are not as lucky. I feel that school uniforms do help to reduce this pressure brought up in this peer group. It does shock me how enough advertising of a certain brand or trend can change children to be someone they are not and can cause so much upset amoungst people. But I do wonder if this will ever change, will there be a day where brands do not control people?
There were a few different children on the show; one whos parents would buy her anything she wanted for any price, a skater boy who belived he didn't follow trends and another girl who was controlled by her parents to not believe in trends and buy from charity shops.
My views on this were very mixed I couldn't believe some of the answers the children came out with. For example the child that was given everything she wanted said she would end her friendship with her friends if they did not wear designer brands. Her parents were completely sucked in by her views on brands as if her life would be over if she didn't get the lastest trend. It was on the level of her being completely spoilt and brainwashed by the advertising of these companies. I guess when she grows up she'l look back on that and cringe.
The boy who was into skating was subconsciously brainwashed by skating advertising companies. He believed that he was individual but he would go into well known skater brands to buy clothes from there. This just shows how clever branding companies are at advertising their names.
The other child was brainwashed but on a completely different level, her parents had influenced her into buying clothes from charity shops, I don't find anything wrong with this, it just seemed to me she didn't have an option. For me this girl had been given no choice to express herself individually in a way as she didn't get the choice to even look at brand companies or see what is 'in' at the moment. As she was home schooled she would never have this pressure, Ifeel that it restricts her from seeing what the real world is really like.
Everyone should have their own choice to follow what they like, or venture into different styles. I feel that the peer pressure to be 'cool' is quite sad as it does change children. They may not be able to show who they really are as that trend might not be 'in'.
That is why I do feel that school uniforms are a good idea. In one of my schools we did not have uniforms and honestly there was pressure to wear all the right things even though you didn't have the money to. I can happily say that I wasn't a major brand and trend follower and still did have alot of friends but for some people the are not as lucky. I feel that school uniforms do help to reduce this pressure brought up in this peer group. It does shock me how enough advertising of a certain brand or trend can change children to be someone they are not and can cause so much upset amoungst people. But I do wonder if this will ever change, will there be a day where brands do not control people?