Monday, May 9, 2016

Final Paper


Ryan Fischer

Professor Braverman

WGS Pop Culture

5/8/16

Where Will KGOY be in 10 Years?

            Childhood has been decaying over the past few years in the shadows of a new concept the marketers of big time companies call KGOY. Marketers realized the potential profit they could reel in from targeting young children with their advertisements and different products, and in turn have changed the way children in society today grow up. KGOY stands for “Kids Getting Older Younger”, and is becoming increasingly more relevant in pop culture and communities across the country. In the book Swimming Upstream: Parenting Girls for Resilience in a Toxic Culture, author Laura Choate explains how the primary cause for KGOY is marketing and advertising. She says that the toys marketed to children represent a marketing trend that pressures children to look hot and sexy, and also act older than they really are (Choate). In 10 years, I think KGOY will still be around because of marketer’s relentless attitude towards profit making strategies, such as the strategies they use to entice young children to purchase products that are inappropriate for their age.

            The KGOY acronym was designed to represent the early maturation of children due to their desire to grow up faster. “Kids Growing Older Younger” is driven by large corporation’s desire for profitability in the markets designed to reach young children. In her book titled Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia, Claudia Mitchell explains that the KGOY phenomenon has led to the death of childhood. Furthermore, in an interview conducted by the Advertising Education Agency, Paul Kurnit described how kids act as a result of KGOY. He says that, “kids between the age of 3 and 5 today, are more like 8 and 9 year olds from decades past in terms of brand knowledge and influence, as well as play patterns and relationships with toys” (Kurnit). This is a result of the combined effect of technological opportunities, the abundance of branding messages that children learn from television advertising, and new trends in parenting. KGOY is also explained as a psychological trend among upper-elementary school children, who desire freedom from their nagging and hovering parents so they can fit into peer groups (Cross). Both views on KGOY emphasize the early maturation of children because of a desire to grow up faster with their peer groups. KGOY has taken shape primarily because of marketers who target young children as potential customers.

            Marketers are the primary driving force behind the development of KGOY among young children in society. Kids nag their parents for the next best toy or piece of technology in order to fit in with their peers because of the advertisements they see on television. Kay Hymowitz, a fellow at the Manhattan institute who writes extensively on childhood and cultural change in America, discusses the birth of KGOY in an interview with Dr. Albert Mohler. She says that marketers ignore parents and directly target kids in their marketing campaigns. The goal of their campaigns is to get kids to think of themselves as older so they can express themselves more and demand more for themselves, while also getting their parents to buy them more toys (Hymowitz). Hymowitz says that when parents are unsure and kids are nagging and empowered, the market will rule. When the market rules, it tells kids what is cool, what they ought to do, what they ought to value, and what they ought to be (Hymowitz). Hymowitz’s logic explains that marketers control the way kids grow up, and continuously strive to make kids feel older by empowering them to buy certain things.

            Some examples of the products that cause kids to grow older younger are violent video games, Barbie dolls, and Bratz dolls. In the market for videogames, Nintendo began to discover that their customer base was expanding as child players became teens and entered their 20s. This caused manufacturers to create more sexual and violent games to appeal to the new enlarged group of customers. However, the presence of the new over sexualized and violent video games lured kids away from the more “babyish” games like Mario (Cross). The exposure to the violent and sexualized videogames has influenced kids to grow older faster by exposing them to mature content. Similarly, Barbie dolls and Bratz dolls provide an oversexualized icon for young girls to look up to. In his article titled “KGOY”- or Kids Growing Older Younger: The Message of Barbie and the Bratz, Albert Mohler discusses the influence Barbie and Bratz dolls have on the development of children. Mohler believes that parents often forget that kids want to grow up fast, and marketers take advantage of it by offering products meant for an older audience to kids between the ages of 3 and 7. Barbie was originally created in 1959 by Ruth Hander as a sexual toy for men. However, now it is marketed to 3-year-old girls (Mohler). To date, over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold, and the average American girl aged between 3 and 11 owns a staggering 10 Barbie dolls (The Economist). As a result of Barbie’s popularity among young children, today it is not uncommon for an eight-year-old to own lip gloss and for 11 year olds to wear a thong to school (Mohler). Barbie’s impact on young girls in society is evident through the way girls sexualize themselves at an early age. Similar to Barbie, Bratz dolls have pressured kids to dress provocatively, wear makeup, and act older. Kay Hymowitz describes Bratz dolls as “little hookers” because of the way the dolls are dressed in scandalous clothing and a heavy amount of makeup. Bratz have influenced young girls to grow up faster by pressuring them into objectifying themselves as sex objects at an early age, like the way their dolls do. Marketing and advertising have the most profound influence on kids in society, and are the main contributor to the development of KGOY.

            KGOY has currently trended upward in the past decade because of marketers who began to market to children between the ages of 3 to 7. Because of strong marketing techniques, KGOY will still be a strong aspect of our society in 10 years because marketers will continue to use their techniques to form self-brand connections within their target customers. Self-brand connections are the prevailing view that consumers engage in a matching process to identify products or brands that are congruent with their self-images (Chaplin). Research demonstrates that individuals use products to communicate their self-concepts, showing that children who play with Barbie dolls and Bratz dolls connect their self-image with the image of the doll. Therefore, they want to dress, wear makeup, and act older like their dolls (Chaplin). Marketers have discovered that consumers can appropriate associations belonging to brands, such as user characteristics or personality traits, and incorporate them into their own self-concepts (Chaplin). When children are exposed to television advertisements for a new toy marketed to them, they appropriate the user characteristics and personality traits of the product to themselves. Most of the time, the products display older personality traits and push children to act an older age. The idea of self-brand connections that marketers develop in children is why kids will continue to grow older younger. The toys and television advertisements that young children associate themselves with are unappropriated for their age because toys like Barbie and Bratz dolls are over sexualized for a young girl. Similarly, violent video games with sexual components are inappropriate to young boys. Marketers ignore how parents feel about the products exposed to their children, and instead attack children with advertisements and product promotions.

Marketers will continue to advertise and create self-brand connections with their young customers because of the tremendous profitability of the strategy. Marketers spend about $17 billion annually in marketing to children, opposed to back in 1983 where marketers only spent around $100 million (“Marketing to Children Overview”). Also, today children under 12 years old influence $500 billion in purchases every year (“Marketing to Children Overview”). Marketers understand that young children themselves don’t have purchasing power, however they possess what marketers call “pester power” (puretheraputics.com). Marketers think of children as cash cows and bombard them with advertising because they know kids will pester their parents to purchase worthless food and toys (puretheraputics.com). The tremendous success marketers have had with advertising to kids at a very young age implies that they will continue to apply this approach and technique to continue to be profitable. Therefore, kids will still be exposed to over sexualized and mature dolls and toys, causing them to age faster and desire to be older. KGOY will not dissipate in 10 years because marketers have a firm grip on advertising to children and are extremely effective in their methods of creating a self-brand connection with children and their brand. However, parents need to consistently expose their children to positive role models and continue to point out positive qualities of people in order for children to develop positive behavior (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry). KGOY can have a positive impact on children as long as parents consistently expose their children to good role models and point out positives so kids can grow and develop into good people like those around them, instead of developing into the oversexualized dolls and violent video game characters that are marketed towards them.

            KGOY has taken shape over the past decade because of children’s exposure to mature content and toys that are designed for older children. Kids are getting older younger because it is the marketer’s goal for kids to think of themselves as younger. KGOY allows companies to profit off of the billions of dollars that kids influence their parents to spend on the toys and videogames. Self-brand connections are driving kids to associate themselves with the violent video games and sexualized Barbie dolls, therefore causing them to adapt an older image of themselves. KGOY will continue to present itself in society because marketers will refuse to forfeit the profit opportunities that exist among the market of 3-7-year-old children. They will continue to neglect parents in their decision to market to kids, and thrive off of the pester power of children that lead to $500 billion in purchases every year. KGOY will always be relevant in our society because of how crucial marketing and advertising is to our capitalist economy. However, parents need to expose their children to positive role models and point out positive qualities in famous people to teach children that their Barbie and Bratz dolls aren’t the ideal way to act in society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Chaplin, Lan Nguyen, and Deborah Roedder, John. “Journal of Consumer Research.” Ed. Darren Dahl, Eileen Fischer, Gita Johar, and Vivki Morwitz. Journal of Consumer Research 32.1: 119-129. Oxford University Press. Oxford University Press, 1 June 2005. Web. 9 May 2016. http://jcr.oxfordjournals.org/content/32/1/119.full.

Cross, Gary. “Jaded Children, Callow Adults.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. The Chronicle Review, 10 March 2014. Web. 9 May 2016. http://chronicle.com/article/Jaded-Children-Callow-Adults/145117/.

Choate, Laura Hensley. Swimming Upstream: Parenting Girls for Resilience in a Toxic Culture. New York: Oxford UP, 2016. Print.

Hymowitz, Kay. “Kids Growing Older Younger: Bratz Dolls and Barbies.” Interview by Albert Mohler. AlbertMohler.com. 19 December 2006. Web. 9 May 2016.

Kurnit, Paul. “Kids Getting Older Younger.” Advertising Educational Foundation. Advertising Educational Foundation, 1999. Web. 9 May 2016. http://www.aef.com/on_campus/classroom/speaker_pres/data/35.

“Life in Plastic.” The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 21 December 2002. Web. 9 May 2016. http://www.economist.com/node/1487595.

“Marketing to Children Overview.” Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. Web. 9 May 2016. http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/resource/marketing-children-overview.

Mitchell, Claudia, and Jacqueline Reid-Walsh. Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2008. Print.

Mohler, Albert. “KGOY”- or Kids Growing Older Younger: The Message of Barbie and the Bratz.” AlbertMohler.com. 20 December 2006. Web. 9 May 2016. http://www.albertmohler.com/2006/12/20/kgoy-or-kids-growing-older-younger-the-message-of-barbie-and-the-bratz/.

“Role Models and Children.” American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, September 2011. Web. 9 May 2016. https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Children-and-Role-Models-099.aspx.

 

 

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Ready, Set, Go Viral!



Ryan Fischer


Professor Braverman


WGS Pop Culture                 


25 April 2016


Ready, Set, Go Viral!


Dermatologists believe the number of deaths from melanoma would be much lower if people knew the warning signs of melanoma, learned how to examine their skin for signs of skin cancer, and took the time to examine their skin (American Academy of Dermatology). This was our motivation behind #KforMelanoma. Inspired by our head coach, we set out to increase the awareness of Melanoma through our baseball team and our baseball games at TCNJ. Coach Glus was diagnosed with melanoma, however, he was able to identify it early and seek the proper treatment for it. Now as a cancer survivor, he advocates for melanoma awareness and has supported us throughout our journey to increase melanoma awareness in those who follow TCNJ baseball.


To raise awareness, our group created the #KforMelanoma trend on social media. We initially wanted to have fans of the baseball team sponsor our starting pitchers and donate a dollar to melanoma research for every strikeout the pitcher accrued over the season. However, we were unable to obtain Dr. Beverly’s approval because she stepped down after we presented our idea. Dr. Beverly stepping down slowed our project down quite a bit because we were stuck on how we would be able to raise money for melanoma research. Our initial goal was to obtain 15 to 20 sponsors for our starting pitchers who were willing to donate to melanoma research for each strikeout. While we were not able to achieve our target number of sponsors, we were able to attract a few sponsors who are willing to donate at the end of our season for the strikeout total. In addition to receiving five parent sponsors, we set out to spread the hashtag of #KforMelanoma to raise awareness of the deadly skin cancer, and encouragingly received six replay hashtags.


            Overall, although we did not achieve our target number of sponsors, we accomplished our goal of raising melanoma awareness. People of all ages are at risk for melanoma. Things that put people at risk for melanoma are ultraviolet light exposure, moles, fair skin, freckling, light hair, family history of melanoma, older age, and being a male (American Cancer Society). Melanoma can be prevented by simply avoiding excessive ultraviolet light exposure and applying sunscreen before going outside. If left untreated, melanoma can be a deadly form of skin cancer and extremely dangerous among those who have it.  


            I think we were successful with our trendsetting project. While we may not have achieved the widespread success some other groups may have had, but we were able to accomplish our goal of raising awareness of melanoma. Not many people understand what melanoma is and how easily at risk they are. By advocating for melanoma awareness and raising money to support melanoma research, our group has set out to change the way people view their risk of getting melanoma. People who follow TCNJ baseball or who have been to our games understand the severity of melanoma, and can therefore pass on the knowledge to their friends and family. Our project was only the start of a movement that is much bigger than TCNJ baseball. With our coach’s experience as a cancer survivor, we have left a significant mark on our families and followers of TCNJ to reach out and expand this movement of melanoma awareness. Hopefully through #KforMelanoma we have increased awareness of melanoma on a broader scale, which could lead to the reduction of melanoma related deaths in the future.


 


Works Cited


“Melanoma.” American Academy of Dermatology. American Academy of Dermatology. Web. 24 April 2016. <https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/skin-cancer/melanoma>


“What Are the Risk Factors for Melanoma Skin Cancer?” American Cancer Society. American Cancer Society, 1 February 2016. Web. 24 April 2016. <http://www.cancer.org/cancer/skincancer-melanoma/detailedguide/melanoma-skin-cancer-risk-factors>


 

Monday, April 18, 2016

Modern Families and Modern Money Worries Summary


The article “Modern Families and Modern Money Worries” discusses the financial struggles of four increasingly common family structures in our society today. The article discusses single parent families, blended families, same-sex families, and multi-generational families.

Single parent families are families where only one parent is raising a child, whether the child was adopted or a married couple had a child but is divorced. With single parent families, financial costs are often the biggest concern. Arnold Jenkins is a single parent of one daughter; he used to be a workaholic but now takes all the time he can to spend with his daughter. Because he is a single parent, the money he used to deposit into his savings account now goes towards the day care his daughter attends while he is at work. Food costs have also rose for the Jenkins family because they tried to adopt a healthier life style and began eating more fruits and vegetables. Arnold also compiled a large debt from the long custody battle with his ex-wife. The most troubling money concern with single parent families is Arnold’s fear of not having enough money to cover for his daughter if he were to unexpectedly die.

Blended families have a different set of financial concerns. Their financial arguments involve a what is yours, mine, and ours debate.  A prenup is often a reliable option before marriage to differentiate what each individual owns if something were to happen to the relationship. Many couples make a plan for what they bring into the marriage, however they forget to plan for issues in the future like supporting adult children or leaving money to their heirs.

A same-sex family’s financial problems come with future inheritances. Spouses have trouble leaving money for each other in case of a sudden death in some states because there are still states that don’t recognize gay marriage. However, in most states married same sex couples receive the same federal treatment for income and estate taxes as married heterosexual couples. On the contrary, no court or federal rulings can resolve family issues that involve family dynamics. In particular, if the parents or families don’t approve of the relationship.

Multi-generational families are families where two, three, or four generations of a family live under the same roof and depend on support from one or two of those family members. In this case, there are many tax considerations and faulty transactions. It is very easy for people to run afoul with gift taxes when they give family members money as a gift to pay for their own taxes. All families encounter financial challenges and every family has a different financial situation. These four families and the situations they have to face as a family are becoming more and more relevant in our society and deserve a close look at like the one supplied in the article “Modern Families and Modern Money Worries.”

Media Screening


The movie “In a World” features a woman named Carol Solomon who wants to be a voice over in movie trailers, which her father regards as a “man’s business, nobody wants to hear a female voice.” Carol’s voice was heard by the executive producer of the Amazon Games Quadrilogy and she was selected to be the voice of the trailer. Her father, who was notorious for his voice overs in movie trailers (who was also in consideration for the job) was upset that a female was going to be the voice in the trailer. People responded very negatively to a female entering the voice over industry, and believed that there was no room for her. The other male candidates considered her a “thief” because she “stole” the position from the other male contestants. This film displays gender identity because men don’t believe women are fit to be in the voice over industry. The gender stereotypes are on full display when men continuously and openly announce how a woman isn’t fit to be in the voice over business. In the very last scene, the executive producer tells Carol that “everyone in the world hears movie trailers, and everyone in the world hears TV commercials.” She picked Carol because she believed that young females need to be empowered and motivated by hearing a female’s voice in a powerful position in influential media roles.

The documentary titled “It’s a Girl” displays the fear and danger of being a woman in countries like India and China. The documentary begins with a woman explaining how she killed eight of her female children because of their sex. She would continue to get pregnant hoping for a boy, however she kept getting a boy. In India, society views females as a drain of resources due to the fact that they cannot retain family property and cannot provide as a source of income. Additionally, due to the poor living conditions and costs of raising a child, the female children families get pregnant with are often aborted or killed to lessen the expenses on the family. Fortunately, India has taken action against the killing of young female children by implementing a law that prohibits killing a child based on their gender. Similarly, in China, there are 13 million abortions a year. On top of that, there are 500 female suicides every day in China. When you break down the population of China, there are 37 million more men than women in China. These staggering statistics are caused by a policy in China that allows families to have no more than two children. Chinese families often kill the female children they have to ensure both of their kids are males because they will be more successful in society. Female rights are taken away at a very young age in both of these countries. The documentary fully exposes the gender inequality in these societies, where it has become so extreme that mothers kill their children because they would rather have them die than live in their society.

Both of these movies encompass the gender inequality found in our world today. While “In a World” is a little less severe, it is still important to note how people responded to when Carol won the job. They accused her of being a thief to her male counterparts, who believed she was inadequate for the job simply because the industry “had no room for a female voice”. “It’s a girl is a little more serious and eye opening to the global issue of gender inequality. Female deaths at a young age are abundant in India and China because a female does not have the same opportunities a man has. In our world, we need to address the issue of gender inequality and make it clear that people are people, no matter whether they are born as a male or female. Everyone is capable of making a contribution to society, and they shouldn’t be stripped of that opportunity at birth when their parents say “It’s a girl.”

Friday, April 15, 2016

Gender Neutral Children


Sasha’s story is exemplary of how crucial gender roles are in the development of a child. Sasha, a boy, was raised as a gender neutral child up until he turned 5 years old. Sasha’s room was painted a neutral yellow, he was encouraged to play with whatever toys he wanted to, and was allowed to wear whatever clothing he wanted. His parents never encouraged him to play with one thing over another, and they never pushed him to act a certain way. They simply allowed Sasha to grow up the way he wanted to grow up without the pressure of living up to a stereotype that has been pre-determined for him.

Gender neutral parenting is starting to become more relevant in today’s society, and I feel that it is not a problem. I don’t think that gender neutral parenting is the wrong way to parent. When we look at the toys children play with, they distinctly define and encourage a gender to act a specific way. For example, male toys promote violence, aggressiveness, strength, and masculinity. On the other hand, female toys promote nurturing, skillful development, and beauty. These toys influence children to behave accordingly towards their gender roles, and put pressure on growing children to live up to the common stereotypes about their gender.

Gender neutral parenting attempts to eliminate gender roles in a developing child’s life. Many believe gender stereotypes and prejudices have a negative impact, so gender neutral parenting can be a good thing for children. In her book Gender Neutral Parenting: Raising Kids with the Freedom to be Themselves, author Paige Lucas-Stannard explores the benefits of raising kids gender neutral and tries to debunk myths such as the belief that GNP is anti-feminine or anti-masculine. She believes that parents should expose kids to a wide range of gender types and to allow them freedom to explore without judgement. I think that it is beneficial to allow kids to live in the way they want to live because everyone is entitled to their own lives. I don’t believe that people’s lives should be dictated through the eyes of others. Everyone is their own unique person with certain passions in life and they should be able to freely express themselves without anyone else’s opinion being important to them.

"GimpGirl Grows Up" Article Summary


Inspired by her participation in the DO-IT program for teens with disabilities, Jenifer Cole and her mentor Len Burns founded the center for Breaking Away. It is a nonprofit organization for disabled youth transitioning to adulthood. This organization originally housed the GGC project, but was dissolved after the GGC project outgrew the center.The GGC was founded in 1998 as a collaboration of young women with disabilities who shared dissatisfaction with preexisting services and communities, which appeared incapable of fulfilling the needs of these youth in transition to adulthood.
GGC was created to fight back against abusive situations Jenifer had encountered, and to counterbalance her early heteronomous role of being a passive daughter/child with a disability. She established it when she was only 18 or 19 to form a community in which people collectively help each other through tough time as those with disabilities. The domain gimpgirl.com was registered in February 1998 initially as Jennifer’s personal website. However, it was almost immediately handed over to the GGC. This GGC site was one of the first sites dedicated to women with disabilities based on self-diagnosed disability, without restrictions on age, sexual orientation, or types of disability. Offered resources and links to news from the disability community.
The name “Gimpgirl” originated from a nickname Jenifer’s friends called her when she was a teenager. By sharing her nickname with the group Jenifer motivated herself and other group members to get each other through life. GGC members have become increasingly accepting of the term GimpGirl. At first, many felt it was rude. But after they thought deeper into it, they realized the term is upfront and confident while it takes away any sense of pity.

An important characteristic of the GGC today is their active search for and implementation of new technologies to facilitate member participation and community development. Seeks new technology to deliver and develop desirable content for its members. For example, the GGC has created an account on the LiveJournal platform in an effort to diversify access and to reduce duties for moderators. In this system, users were able to maintain their own accounts and benefitted from a variety of available communities.

The theme of the GGC is a double whammy; living as women and living with a disability. Over the past decade, the GGC and its members have changed many lives, and they continue to constantly look for new ways in which to challenge medical/institutional discourses, as well as public perceptions of women with disabilities.

Monday, April 4, 2016

Social Networks: "Social Media's Top 5 Contributions to Society"


While many people have a negative view of Facebook, I would like to offer a twist on the role the social networking site has in society. In Samantha Rupert’s article “Social Media’s Top 5 Contributions to Society,” she summarizes five benefits social media has in our society. First, she explains that Facebook is a forum for support and safety information during a crisis. For example, during Superstorm Sandy, most people didn’t have power. However, some cell networks and WiFi towers were still operational. Many people used Facebook to detail the destruction and reassure friends or family that they were safe. Secondly, Rupert says that Facebook is a valuable aid for crime-solving. Police departments like the NYPD are beginning to investigate gang-related crimes on social media networks. Recently, the NYPD nabbed about 60 gang members who boasted about violent crimes on social media networks. Third, Facebook and other social media platforms are a form of political influence. Social media has given a true voice to the people. It allowed people to rally for same sex marriage equality while the Supreme Court heard cases regarding the issue. The wide range of people that use Facebook make it a powerful political voice. Fourth, Facebook is currently the best way yet to connect across vast distances. It allows friends and families from far and wide to connect with ease, without having to waste money paying for international phone calls. It also offers a visual for these people who haven’t seen their loved ones in a while because different pictures can be posted. Fifth and finally, social media has revolutionized brand engagement. It has completely transformed the marketing industry. A report from BIA/Kelsey projects social media revenue to exceed $11 Billion by 2017. Because brands have the opportunity to personally engage with customers like never before through these sites, their sales are skyrocketing. People like to see brands respond to them when the mention a company in a Facebook post or a tweet or anything on social media. Interaction through social media is fueling sales and brand success in the media world. So while many might throw harsh criticism at Social Media and the role it plays in our society, Rupert offers a spin on the common negative opinions and opens eyes to the good role social media plays in our society.