Lapsed ja tarbimisühiskond: Eesti lapsevanemate käsitlused
Date
2005
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Abstract
Description
There has been no research on the topics related to parents' opinions on their
children's consuming habits in Estonia before. Marketing that targets children is as a
whole a new branch of study in Estonia on account of which the present BA thesis can
be seen as conceptional.
Therefore almost half of this paper is dedicated to giving an overview of earlier
thoretical treatments and research. The empirical part of my work consists of
conclusions made on the qualitative text analysis of in-depth interviews with 11
parents and describes their viewpoints.
From one side it was necessary to study parents' standpoints for practical reasons. The
questions how to protect children or how to regulate marketing that is targeted on
children are relevant for Estonian society and regarding the increasing pressure of
marketing, become even more relevant in due time.
That is where the parents have an important role, for they largely shape the
consuming habits of children and the formal methods of any kind (laws or the code of
ethics of marketing) are never effective enough to protect children. The results of the
present work can also be used to compile materials and lectures for parents.
On the other hand, different articles on marketing for children express certain broader
attitudes towards consuming culture that is more widely a subject of social way of
thinking. For adults, children's position is special and describing children works as an
indicator of a wider social thinking.
One of the main focuses in this work is the parents' view on the position of subjects
that are placed in the triangle of child, marketing and the parent. In general, there
dominated a pattern where marketing was seen as manipulative and hazardous for
children. At the same time, it was not regarded as a serious problem because of the
important protective-pedagogical influence of parents. The effect of marketing is also
described in a rather simplified manner, it seems that the prototypes of advertising are the washing powder commercials produced for Eastern European market. Therefore
parents might not even consider the typical complicated marketing materials as direct
advertisements.
Secondly this paper focuses on perceptions of the symbolic values of consumption
and opportunities to cope with cognitive tensions when the parents' resources were
limited (in the state of deprivation). Empirical results brought forth dominating
pattern of “rational” consumption, parents admitted unfilled needs of their children
but as a rule these were seen as unimportant and marginal.
In general there is the detectable ambivalence in viewpoints, which were influenced
by strong cognition of social norms and overall scarce awareness. Parents with higher
tensions showed more considered and protective attitudes.
This topic certainly needs further research in Estonia, especially with an aim to draw
representative conclusions.
Keywords
H Social Sciences (General), bakalaureusetööd