CONSUMER’S DOWNWARD SPIRAL TOWARDS A STRESSFUL YOUTH

Abstract

This paper uses several articles to talk about the consequences of placing so much importance on consumerism.  Not only this, but also the effects it has on teens, which is the main focus point.  Kramer (2006) states that consumerism and materialism has a dramatic and negative impact on children’s physical and psychological health.  This means that youth today is completely different from youth 10 to 20 years ago and one of the main causes of this is consumerism.  Teens are more anxious, less happy, more depressed and also more withdrawn when it comes down to relationships with others. Certainly, happiness is difficult to pin down, let alone measure but a recent literature review suggests we're no more contented than we were back then, in fact, maybe less so (APA, 2012).  One of the biggest issues today for teens and children is obesity and this is caused by high consumerism because people by things that provide everything without having to do any work. They go online to shop, they go to fast food places to eat, and they focus more on material thing then on their health. Approximately 17% of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese so this is a huge problem (CDC, 2012). This isn’t the only issue when it comes down to consumerism; another issue is that psychologists are being used to make advertisements to grab the attention of these teens which is unethical in every way. This should be stopped, parents should try to teach their children about the dangers of consumerism, and schools should raise awareness about this problem which can no longer be taken lightly.

Consumer’s Downward Spiral Towards

A Stressful Youth

         Compared with Americans in 1957, today we own twice as many cars per person, eat out twice as often and enjoy endless other commodities that weren't around then (APA, 2012).  It’s hard for people to understand the severity of the issue when it comes down to consumerism because it has happened gradually and everyone engages in it so it’s hard to pin point what is so awful about it.  The effects can be seen in today’s youth, not just from looking at their physical health, but also by studying their actions throughout a normal day.  Kids are smoking, drinking alcohol, and taking illegal drugs at alarming rates but people do not link all of this to the simple fact that we live in a world that focuses on consumerism.  Studies reviewed by the task force found an increase in violent attitudes and behaviors in teens due to consumerism.  Furthermore, children are suffering from emotional and mental health problems at a higher rate than in the past because people are so focused on consuming and having the best brands. 

Kanner and Gomes (1995) found that advertisements make children feel deeply inadequate unless they buy certain products or services.  By the time children reach 12 years of age, they use brand names as an important conceptual cue in consumer judgments (Kramer, 2006).  Teens are judging others by the brands they wear not by their personality and this causes emotional and mental health problems especially on lower class teens that can’t think about brands when they go shopping.  Studies show that low-income children, especially ethnic minorities, in nonacademic oriented families, are at greater risk of suffering from the effects of marketing (Kramer, 2006).   Research suggests that when people grow up in unfortunate social situations where they're not treated very nicely by their parents or when they experience poverty or even the threat of death, they become more materialistic as a way to adapt (APA, 2012).

           Some authors actually argue that children are critical consumers who are capable of defending themselves against the possible negative effects of advertising (Valkenburg, 2000). This becomes an ethical issue because there are companies making advertisements by using psychologist’s knowledge of the brain and its functions.  Neuropsychologists and doctors use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine which parts of the brain react to different types of advertising (Kramer, 2006).  There is an entire field of psychology devoted to researching and directing consumer behavior and they are using their information to target children and teens directly (Kramer, 2006).  Is this unethical or is it just another profession?  This is a difficult question to answer because there are many other jobs that are not good for society and they are still being done and people get hired for them every day.  Selling alcohol or cigarettes are both bad for people but it happens and although there have been attempts to stop it, especially cigarettes, it has not been stopped.  Something that can be said to be unethical, with no doubt, is that consumers do not always know when they are being observed by psychologists or their assistants as they gather data (Kramer, 2006).  Everyone knows that for every study people should give consent and that isn’t always being done and that’s wrong in itself without mentioning the fact that it’s used for things that are not beneficial to teens at all.

         High levels of consumer involvement have been proven to reduce children’s self-esteem in the areas of peer and family relationships (Kramer, 2006).  The relationships people have with their family and friends are extremely important not only during their youth but simply to grow into their adulthood. Pressure to purchase name brand items frequently causes conflict and stress between parents and children (Kramer, 2006).  The loss of these relationships can cause a teen to feel alone, withdrawn, and therefore have psychological issues and they will try to find refuge in the use of drugs, violence, etc. The general material culture created through advertising has led children to define themselves through material possessions, as opposed to ethical purpose and community.  This has really become an issue because in 1998, the 31 million teenagers in the United States spent an estimated $141 billion, a rise of $20 billion since 1997 (Montgomery, 2000).  Because of their increased spending power, teens have become a valuable target for the market. Since teens are the group that uses the most technology they  have everyday access to online shopping so even when they are sitting at home they faced with the dangers of consumerism.  

According to market researchers, 67% of U.S. teens with Internet access have already shopped or bought on-line (Montgomery, 2000).  This leads to teens becoming sedentary which leads to the global epidemic called “obesity”.  For a condition to achieve epidemic status, it typically must spread rapidly and generate a higher than expected number of cases.  At both national and global levels, obesity seems to qualify for epidemic status (Hawks, 2001). The International Diabetes Federation predicts that the number of persons with diabetes worldwide will double to 300 million by 2025, with 75 percent of the growth occurring in developing nations (Hawks, 2001).  The internet isn’t the only problem because there are also fast food restaurants that are readily available.  In my opinion, this can be the parent’s fault because usually they are the one’s busy working to be able to keep up with all the family’s consumption and they forget about their children and don’t realize the harm they are doing by letting them go out to eat or buy everything online.  They aren’t taking time out of their day to educate their children about the consequences of high consumerism.

         There are several things that can be done to overcome some or all of the effects caused by consumerism.  For example, Psychologists must stay informed, being willing to address this issue in treatment (Kramer, 2006).  They must stay engaged and do their best to help their patient and report any malpractice they are able to see being done.  Psychologists need to feel comfortable in considering the possible role that consumerism is playing on their client’s feelings, including low self-esteem, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, family conflicts, and more.  Psychologists might be able to apply their skills to develop ads that counter the messages of materialism.  Parents can engage more with their children and teach them that keeping good relationships with friends and family is more important than having the brands everyone else has or that they see on television.  They should have more control over what their children do online and maybe tell them to mute advertisements.  Furthermore, they could encourage community service and participation in sports so that they aren’t tempted to participate in excessive consumerism.

Teens aren’t the only ones that’s need to be educated, parents themselves should go to educational programs for families to help them learn about the negative impact of materialism on their children.  Individuals need to find creative ways to reach out to the community through schools, public forums, and foreign language newspapers (Kramer, 2006).  There should be classes taken in school that teaches about the dangers of advertisements, media and consumerism in general so that ignorance won’t be an excuse in any situation.  Professionals must work to reduce the amount of advertising in schools.  Schools are a place to learn about, not only things you can use throughout your life, but also how to live your life the best way possible so placing advertisements in schools is contradicting the whole purpose of school. 

Discussion

All in all, consumerism can be a huge problem in a teen’s life.  Not only does it cause physical problems but also psychological ones. It can lead to stress, unhappiness, and withdraw which can have a really negative impact on today’s youth (APA, 2012).  Problems with relationships with peers and family are also an effect of consumerism.  It can lead to obesity which has become a global epidemic and it’s still on the rise (Hawks, 2001). It is hard to monitor and control this issue because the majority of teens use all kinds of technology and because of this they are the biggest target for advertisers.  Some ethical issues are apparent when psychologists are used to make the advertisements to target teens and children directly (Kramer, 2006).  They use the knowledge they have about the brain and how it works to make specialized advertisements that trigger the right emotions in each individual. 

There is still some hope to fix this problem but efforts from psychologists, parents, teachers, etc are all necessary.  Schools need to have classes not only for students but for parents too so that they both can be educated about the dangers of consumerism and how to control how much you consume.  Psychologists need to be aware of the problems their patients might have because of consumerism so that they can be able to help them and so they can report any malpractice that might occur.  Parents can have the most impact on their children by teaching them at home to control their consumption of material objects and how to avoid being tricked or influenced by advertisements.  The only thing that needs to be remembered is that consumerism is only an issue if it is not practiced in moderation.

By L. Almanza, Pre-Medicine Student

References:

APA. (2012). American psychological association. Retrieved from American psychological association: http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun04/discontents.aspx

CDC. (2012). Centers for disease control and prevention. Retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html

Hawks, S. R. (2001). Human culture and the global epidemic of obesity. Health weight journal, 85-88.

Kramer, J. B. (2006). Ethical analysis and recommended action in response to the dangers associated with youth consumerism. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Montgomery, K. (2000). Youth and digital media: a policy research agenda. Journal of adolescent health, 61-68.

Valkenburg, P. M. (2000). Media and youth consumerism. Journal of adolescent health, 52-56.

LOOKING DEEPER INTO THE CORE OF THE FAIR TRADE MOVEMENT

Abstract 

This paper uses six articles to discuss not only the definition of fair trade, which is fairly consistent, but also its purposes, advantages, and flaws.  Moore (2004) talks about the different views of southerners and northerners and really shows that he has an unbiased view about fair trade.  This helps the reader analyze both sides of the issue and develop their own opinion about the fair trade movement.  Redfern and Snedker (2002) outline the history of Fair Trade and also its evolution through the 40 years it has been in progress.  They also talk about the different approaches you can take when analyzing fair trade and also its future challenges.  Renard (2003) also talks about the challenges of fair trade but she specifically mentions the issue of empowerment which is also mentioned in Moore’s article.  Hira and Ferrie (2006) focus entirely on all of the challenges and on how fair trade is really helping or making a difference in businesses in different parts of the world.

Looking Deeper Into the Core of

The Fair Trade Movement

         Fair trade has become more and more recognized around the world in recent years probably because of the economic crisis and also because of the increase in poverty levels around the globe.  Fair trade can be defined as an Economic partnership based on dialogue, transparency, and respect.  It is also an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries to make better trading conditions and promote sustainability (Moore, 2004). It betters the economy of developing countries and gives better jobs to everyone including women.  This has become an extremely important subject because of the extensive use of resources and also the increase in population size.  Population size can affect poverty levels because there aren’t enough supplies to go around to everyone.  Raising awareness amongst consumers, businesses and policy-makers about how mainstream international trade excludes the poor has long been a fundamental objective of Fair Trade organizations (Redfern & Snedker, 2002). This is why the Fair Trade Movement has become much more popular because one of its purposes is to alleviate poverty. Free trade could really help the world reach the 8 millennium development goals successfully without affecting the environment or putting people, especially children, in hazardous jobs.

         Fair trade has many different purposes that can be very useful especially to those countries that do not have enough supplies to keep everyone alive. For example, for the banana market it is not an exaggeration to say that fair trade represents the last, best hope for family farmers otherwise unable to survive in a liberalized banana market (Moberg, 2005).  Alleviating poverty, empowering producers to set prices within the framework of the true costs of labor time, promoting safe and healthy working environments free of forced labor, creating development opportunities for disadvantaged producers, especially women and indigenous people, and protecting children from exploitation in the production process are some of the main purposes for the creation of the fair trade movement (Moore, 2004).  Women in rural places or places with extreme poverty have always had a disadvantage when it came to having jobs that didn’t exploit them or that weren’t hazardous to them and fair trade has made this change dramatically.  About 76% of women were engaged in non-agricultural fair trade production in 2008 (The Fair Trade Federation, 2012).  Not only that but approximately 7.5 million individuals in 2008 directly benefited from Fair Trade Certified production.  Children in places such as Nigeria have been working in hazardous places also so the fair trade movement hopes to reduce the number of children that engage in such jobs which was 284,000 in 2008 (The Fair Trade Federation, 2012).

         Although the fair trade does try to promote positive action, there are always some conflicts to every movement.  Moore (2004) mentions that some of these conflicts are that under certain conditions, it seems, both free trade and protectionism work better than Fair Trade, and direct donation is also claimed to be superior to Fair Trade.  Not only this, but it is also difficult to get consistent data for Fair Trade which becomes a barrier for further analysis of trends (Moore, 2004).  Although this movement has become better known it is still just beginning and it still has a long way to go to become the number one choice of trade.  One key element in strengthening fair trade is a label of guarantee, which functions as symbolic support, distinctive sign of quality of the product, basis of value and a source of power for those who do the certifying (Renard, 2003).  Other challenges that arise for fair trade are, defining what fair trade really is, how to certify and how to improve awareness and availability. Businesspeople are skeptical if somewhat responsive about fair trade not just because of certification problems, but whether there is fundamentally any sizable market (Hira & Ferrie, 2006).  It is really difficult to understand the actual concept of fair trade because the definition is mainly focused on what the purpose of it is but it doesn’t explain exactly what it is and that’s what makes it so complicated to certify.

         Although fair trade is very hard to define, it has been shown to help farmers in certain ways.  Fair trade certified coffee farmers receive 10 cents social premium on top of the per-kilo price and 20 cents of social premium on top of the per-kilo price for organic coffee while farmers on conventional farms receive 2 cents from the average $3 latte (The Fair Trade Federation, 2012). This can really be an issue especially in countries of extreme poverty where even a few cents can make such a huge difference in their entire life. If approximately 2.7 billion people in the world exist on less than $2 / day, there is obviously a very serious problem occurring in the world that needs to be fixed. Is fair trade the answer to this issue? I believe that if it does become more widespread, then it really could make a difference because the members of the fair trade movement are really focused on alleviating poverty and are really working towards this purpose. Of course this always leads to the conflict of availability which needs to increase so that it can have a bigger impact and become more than just an idea and more of a good option for developing countries and the people in it. The different members involved with fair trade follow specific criteria in sourcing their products.  Having a price that covers the cost of production, a social premium to provide funding for development project, a partial payment in advance to avoid small Producer organizations falling into debt, contracts that allow long-term production Planning, long-term trade relations that allow proper planning and sustainable production practices, producers must be part of democratic cooperatives and sustainable environmental practices are the most important criteria of fair trade cooperatives and ATOs (Hira & Ferrie, 2006).

Discussion

         All in all, the fair trade movement is meant to better the conditions of people in poor countries where any amount of money is good enough to aid in their survival.  Not only do they want to alleviate poverty but they also want to promote sustainability.  Even though this can be extremely helpful it isn’t as easy as wanting to make a change.  According to Renard (2003) there are a couple of difficulties along the way, which have to do with figuring out a way to make Fair Trade more available and also how to classify it and define it.  These are the main limitations of this specific movement and even today it is still an issue.  If these two problems can be fixed then I believe that a real difference can be made in these countries in need.

         Further research can be done to figure out a way to gather all the data necessary to view the effects of this movement clearly and thoroughly.  Attempting to quantify Fair Trade in terms of market size and market segmentation is problematic because of the lack of an overarching trade body.  As Moore (2004) states, it is difficult to get consistent data for Fair Trade which becomes a barrier for further analysis of trends (Moore, 2004).  If further research can be done to figure out ways in which the movement of fair trade can be tracked to analyze more thoroughly the data, then maybe fair trade could be defined more specifically.  This will help corporations have a stronger hold and opinion about fair trade and there for might have more reason to support it and make it more available.  It is a chain reaction starting with better data analysis and ending with a better definition and then becoming more widespread.  Overall fair trade works for a good cause it just needs to overcome a few obstacles so that it can reach its main goals. 

By: L Almanza

      Student of Biology Major at USF.

Works Cited:

Hira, A., & Ferrie, J. (2006). Fair Trade: Three Key Challenges for Reaching the Mainstream. Journal of Business Ethics, 107–118.

Moberg, M. (2005). Fair Trade and Eastern caribbean Banana Farmers: Rhetoric and Reality in the Anti-Globalization Movement. The Society for Applied Anthropology.

Moore, G. (2004). The Fair Trade movement: parameters, issues and future research. Journal of business, 1-19.

Redfern, A., & Snedker, P. (2002). Creating Market Opportunities for Small Enterprises:Experiences of the Fair Trade Movement. Switzerland: International Labour Organization.

Renard, M. C. (2003). Fair trade: quality, market and conventions. Journal of Rural Studies, 87–96.

The Fair Trade Federation. (2012). The Fair Trade Federation. Retrieved from The Fair Trade Federation: http://www.fairtradefederation.org/ht/d/sp/i/197/pid/197

¿CÓMO ESTABLECER SUS NEGOCIOS POR INTERNET?

by: José Ramón Sánchez

Hacer crecer un pequeño o mediano negocio, a través del Internet, lleva su tiempo. No puede pensar que va a ganar millones de dólares o de euros de la noche a la mañana, a pesar de lo que pueda haber oído y visto en la televisión o de lo que expresen en Internet, los desarrolladores de redes de mercadeo. Se necesita un enfoque sostenible, una campaña de mercadeo integral y mucha paciencia y trabajo, si desea conquistar clientes potenciales, aumentar sus ventas y, en última instancia, obtener resultados apreciables. Para incorporarlo al mundo globalizado, debe entender la importancia de una buena campaña de mercadeo, la cual comienza con el desarrollo de una página web bien estructurada. Estaremos encantados de ayudarle y de proporcionarle una visión objetiva en ese sentido.

Muchas empresas de éxito cuentan con personal altamente especializado, un departamento de mercadeo, dedicado exclusivamente para este fin. Pero, la mayoría de los dueños de pequeños negocios no se pueden permitir este tipo de personal. Sin embargo, con el enfoque y la asesoría correcta, pueden o bien, contratar empresas asesoras especializadas, que les ayuden a conseguir este cometido o con dedicación especializarse y hacerlo por ellos mismos. Si tiene tiempo para hacerlo, con invertir un poco de tiempo podrá aprender estrategias útiles de Mercadeo y recursos simples, que le permitirán alcanzar ese fin. Con ello, sus negocios, experimentarán un buen nivel de crecimiento, como Ud. nunca lo habría creído posible.

No necesita obtener un grado en Mercadeo, solo necesita aprender unos pequeños mecanismos e implementar algunas tareas. Y, en poco tiempo, estará en el camino hacia el éxito. Hemos elaborado una guía de recursos con los puntos más importantes que las empresas puede implementar, para que pequeña empresa, comience a crecer. No trate de poner en práctica todos los pasos a la vez… eso sería abrumador. Aplicándolos uno a la vez, podrá desarrollar, en poco tiempo, su estrategia de mercadeo y construir, sobre la marcha, una empresa sólida. Elija algunas de las estrategias que desea trabajar ahora y empiece por ahí. Luego, poco a poco y, a la medida de su esfuerzo y desarrollo, verá el fruto de sus esfuerzos. ¡Vamos por ello! Empecemos por elaborar una página web efectiva.

Todos en algún momento soñamos con nuestra empresa; iniciamos a buscar opciones de lo que queremos o podemos hacer pero regularmente sin un programa organizado. Un plan de negocio es lo que necesitas ya que es la base del proyecto y  el que guiará todo el proceso del emprendimiento. Entonces, no deberíamos prestarle un poco de atención al mismo? Creo que es esencial. Hoy quiero compartir contigo este artículo que brinda algunos detalles que no debes olvidar al momento de realizar este esquema de trabajo. Sé que te será de gran ayuda.

Elaborar tu plan de negocios es más fácil de lo que crees. Sin embargo, debes tener en cuenta que para que sea efectivo no sólo debe implicar todo lo referente a tu empresa, sino que además, tomar en cuenta los siguientes 10 puntos:

1. Determina bien el objetivo de tu negocio y busca socios y colaboradores que te ayuden a evaluar las estrategias.

2. No confundas una idea de negocios con idea de producto/servicio. La primera debe considerar toda la forma de comercializarla para ganar dinero.

3. Investiga con seriedad, es decir, no le preguntes sólo a tu familia y amigos qué les parece la idea, sino que consulta con potenciales clientes a través de encuestas en que las personas respondan objetivamente.

4. Trabaja bajo la lógica, si la subjetividad gana, pide a alguien que te encamine.

5. Sólo la investigación, el análisis, los objetivos y la estrategia van a sustentar tus proyecciones de venta y los presupuestos, no al revés.

6. Nunca ignores a la competencia.

7. Segmenta, categoriza y nunca creas que vas a llegar a millones de consumidores sin personalizar tu propuesta.

8. El 80% de tus ingresos no debe estar en el 20% de tus clientes.

9. Recuerda que cuando preparas un Plan de Negocios todo es importante, por lo que no debes descuidar ningún punto.

10. Está bien analizar, pero no te demores más de lo necesario porque las ganas se van apagando y terminarás por no concretar.

http://jrsmarketingcommunications.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/como-establecer-sus-negocios-por-internet/