The Commercialization Of Kids

Big tech trains kids to become consumers from … well, birth.

Child-targeted marketing is cringe-worthy at best and unethical at worst. It also undermines children’s healthy development because it robs them of opportunities to play, imagine, and learn freely without manipulation.

Today I speak with Dr. Susan Linn about the ways in which technology exploits children (and what we can do about it at home).

(The podcast is approaching its 500th episode and in celebration I'm re-airing my Top 5 favorite episodes of all time. Here's #5.)

Here’s a preview:

[3:30] Brand loyalty? How media corporations exploit our children for profit

[6:30] Societal implications associated with perpetually up-selling to kids

[11:30] The ways in which big tech manipulates children into bonding with their devices

[17:00] A good, hard look: Addressing our collective preoccupation with technology

[28:00] Thoughts on breaking an older child’s screen addiction

Resources mentioned:

• Episode #337: Minimalist Screen Time and Slow TV 
• Who’s Raising the Kids? Big Tech, Big Business, and the Lives of Children
• Fair play

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