Consumers for life

There are many different agents of socialization that shape us in our lives and we don't even realize. In sociology this week we talked about all the different groups like family, school, day care, religion, sports, and the media. I was most surprised at how big of an impact the media has on everyone even when we're just little kids, especially advertisements. Advertisements are specifically targeting kids because kids have so much impact on what a family spends their money on, and also to make the kids consumers for life. Thinking back in my own childhood I agree with this. The TV brain washes you into thinking you absolutely need this, and it could be from a commercial or more indirectly and sneaky through product placement in shows and movies. When I was little I also wanted something else, the next doll, the newer Barbie, or the bigger play castle. But, now with technology like computers and cell phones kids are targeted in even more ways than just the TV. I was babysitting my neighbors and the little girl, Emma, wanted to show me her Club Penguin animal or something. I had never heard of it. She explained it was a stuffed animal you get and then you can have some kind of internet account. Both her siblings had one too. The media's impact on everyone is inevitable. We live in a consumer culture, but knowing  what kind of an impact the media and advertising has on our lives can help us be less brainwashed and help us make more informed choices about things.