Section 2: Resilience – are we there yet?
The emotional and psychological ability to deal with different pressures in life is an important life-skill that benefits us from an early age. Developing this ‘emotional resilience’ enables children to also deal with the challenges and associated peer pressure that they face as they engage with the commercial world.
"I feel marketing puts my child in a vulnerable position. Marketing can be aggressive, and I wonder if a child knows that they can say no? Do they know to critically analyse the information presented? My guess is no, unless they are taught that there are other viewpoints it is hard for children to naturally not accept a message at face value."
Mothers’ Union Member UK (17)
Tanya Byron was one of the first to mention the importance of resilience in her 2008 review, Safer Children in a Digital World (18). In setting out the objective to increase resilience, she underlined the importance of equipping children to deal with exposure to harmful and inappropriate content, and also of equipping parents to help their children deal with such content.
Developing resilience is important, because it is not possible to shield children and young people entirely from the commercial world. Rather, it is important to equip children to be able to withstand the pressures of the commercial world and to think about how they can interact and behave in it. This important topic was a key driver in the Bailey Review, Letting Children Be Children, and the benefit of online resilience for children was highlighted in a recent study by Oxford University (19). However, resilience has not yet been achieved in many families, perhaps demonstrated by the fact that pester power, the power children exert on parents by asking for something many times in an attempt to wear them down so they get it, remains an issue.
Pester power: eight out of ten parents (81%) feel that media advertising encourages their children to ask them to buy things. (20)
Our research found that pester power is a reality for most parents, with eight out of ten (81%) parents finding that the media, including advertising, films, television and the internet, encourages their children to ask them to buy things that they have seen advertised.
"I think the greatest pressures on my child are that of the media, through television, advertising, marketing and also the societal culture it breeds as my child has to grow up in that environment."
Mothers’ Union Member UK (21)
"Took them to see film, like Brave, then you go past the Disney Store and they’re like, ‘Oh, I want ...’ you know, the doll from that film."
Source: ComRes for Mothers’ Union
Both our interviews and feedback from Mothers’ Union members highlighted that peer pressure is prevalent and that the impact of peers and also older siblings cannot be underestimated either.
"I think peers [are] another external influence, but I also think that how peers influence each other is also shaped by culture as mediated through mainstream media."
Mothers’ Union Member UK (22)
"Going to friends’ houses (influences what they want). They come back from a play date, ‘Oh, so and so had this, I’d really like that,’ and especially friends that have got older siblings, because children always aspire, don’t they, to be older?"
Source: ComRes for Mothers’ Union
"I don’t know if you remember there were these things called Bey Blades? These little toys that you’d pull this trigger and then spin around, you’d have competitions with your friends. Everyone at my school had one, so then I went home one day and I told my mum to buy me one. The next day I went into school and we were just playing all day. .... That went on for quite a long time, but then obviously that died out, no-one used them anymore and then the next thing came along. It kept going on like that."
Source: ComRes for Mothers’ Union
Concern about the pervasiveness of peer pressure was also expressed by Mothers’ Union members. In response to the question what they think the greatest external pressures are on children and young people, they answered:
- "Pressure - and not being the odd one out (fashion)”
- “Peer pressure, from school friends and getting the latest thing due to advertising campaigns”
- “Peer pressure and advertising contribute much to their self esteem”
- “Peer pressure and advertising on TV”
Mothers’ Union Members UK (23)
We are not calling for a ban on the commercial world. Indeed, we recognise that engaging with commercial world is a part of life, and we cannot and should not wrap children in cotton wool to totally isolate them from it. Rather, we believe children need to develop resilience to pressures in life.
"I understand that not all marketing is bad - after all products have to be advertised to be sold, and I do understand that people are targeted according to their particular interests, however I do feel that the targeting of very young people should not be allowed. This puts undue pressure on parents who may not be able to afford the products being advertised and also encourages children to feel that they must have a certain product, or take part in a certain activity to be part of the ‘in crowd’. This feeds on the natural uncertainties of being young."
Mothers’ Union Member UK (24)
However, resilience is not an ‘all or nothing’ scenario. It is not achieved either by a child or young person having no exposure to the commercial world, nor by their total submersion in the commercial world. It is also important to acknowledge that part of building resilience is ensuring that children and young people are equipped to engage with the commercial world. Whilst children do not necessarily see themselves as consumers their actions show that they can be discerning and are influenced by commercial pressures.
(Researcher): “How do you choose your games?”
(Child): “Well it depends what game I want or what games I don’t have, like on the reviews, how much it costs, stuff like that. .... I don’t want to buy a game for like 20 pounds and then find out it’s really bad.
Source: ComRes for Mothers’ Union
There is a balance to be achieved:
"Exposure can be positive as well as negative, we need to educate our children to let them know exactly what commercialisation is and how they are influenced by marketing and not just in a negative way."
Mothers’ Union Member UK (25)
And this is what resilience is: making sure that children and young people are educated, equipped and empowered to respond to the commercial world.
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(17) Mothers’ Union member comment in response to question: What impact does marketing have on your child/children/grandchild/grandchildren?
(18) p.62 - http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/http://www.educ...
(19) A shared responsibility: building children’s online resilience. An independent research paper commissioned and supported by Virgin Media and the Parent Zone 2014
(20) Source: ComRes for Mothers’ Union
(21) Mothers’ Union member comment in response to question: What do you think are the greatest external influences/pressures on your child/children/grandchild/grandchildren?
(22) Mothers’ Union member comment in response to question: What do you think are the greatest external influences/pressures on your child/children/grandchild/grandchildren?
(23) Mothers’ Union member comment in response to question: What do you think are the greatest external influences and pressures on your child/children/grandchild/grandchildren?
(24) Mothers’ Union member comment in response to question: How do you perceive/understand the commercial world around us?
(25) Mothers’ Union member comment in response to question: Do you think that your child/ children/ grandchild/ grandchildren would be different if they were not exposed to the commercial world
