When teenagers want what influencers have
Where do children get their mind-boggling buying ideas? It鈥檚 likely that influencer marketing is the culprit.
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Where do children get their mind-boggling buying ideas? It鈥檚 likely that influencer marketing is the culprit.
鈥淢om, Dad, I absolutely must have these awesome new sneakers!鈥 Parents often have no idea how their own children come up with what they want to buy. No wonder, because parents aren't shown the same online advertising messages and don't have the same surfing habits on the Internet. Over the past few years, advertising has become increasingly digital and more personalized. Whereas you see the latest designer furniture or stackable Tupperware, teenagers get the latest miracle face cream or this season's must-have sunglasses flashing across their screens. And it isn't only in the form of traditional ads, but also as subtle, barely recognizable product placements.
In the past, cool classmates or the stars in the latest teenage magazine were the taste makers 鈥 the 鈥渋nfluencers.鈥 Today it鈥檚 increasingly the idols in the digital world who influence young people's buying decisions.聽Young people encounter these personalities daily on Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube or Spotify (if they use the streaming service without a subscription). The hippest clothes or the latest electronic gadgets and cosmetic products are subtly presented by influencers as their own personal buying recommendations. There's no question this is how your children decide what they want to buy. That even the most heartfelt influencer tips are mostly paid recommendations is not always obvious at first glance. And even if young people are becoming better at seeing through and understanding the advertising mechanisms at work on social media, this doesn't mean their newly triggered needs will disappear. What remains is the perceived pressure to live up to an ideal.
Figures about media use
Source: ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, JAMES Study 2022
Advertising now increasingly targets young people. So it's worth discussing the topic of 鈥渋nformed buying decisions鈥 around the family dinner table. How can you learn more about a product before you buy it? Are recommendations of influencers believable or does it perhaps make more sense to read additional, more neutral product tests and reviews? Or maybe you have friends in real life who recently bought a similar product?
But aren't influencers required to label their posts as ads? Theoretically, yes. Switzerland passed a law against unfair competition. This law requires that advertising must always be recognizable as such. This applies to influencers who positively promote products and services on social media. So there is a labeling obligation. But the obligation is not always honored and generally has no legal consequences.
The key points in a nutshell
斗牛棋牌在线鈥檚 educational principles
This article was written in collaboration with educator Marianne Heller, who has years of experience in teaching financial education and debt prevention programs for children and young people.
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