Childhood

http://chd.sagepub.com

Between Consumerism and Protectionism: Attitudes towards children,

consumption and the media in Estonia
Margit Keller and Veronika Kalmus
Childhood 2009; 16; 355
DOI: 10.1177/0907568209335315
The online version of this article can be found at:
http://chd.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/16/3/355

Published by:
http://www.sagepublications.com

On behalf of:
Norwegian Centre for Child Research

Additional services and information for Childhood can be found at:

Email Alerts: http://chd.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts
Subscriptions: http://chd.sagepub.com/subscriptions
Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav
Permissions: http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
Citations http://chd.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/16/3/355

Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

BETWEEN CONSUMERISM AND

PROTECTIONISM
Attitudes towards children, consumption and
the media in Estonia
MARGIT KELLER AND VERONIKA
KALMUS
University of Tartu
Keywords:
Estonia, consumerism, media,
protectionism, socialization
Mailing address:
Margit Keller
Institute of Journalism and Communication,
University of Tartu, 18 likooli St, 50090
Tartu, Estonia.
[email: margit.keller@ut.ee]
Childhood Vol. 16(3): 355375
The Author(s), 2009. Reprints and permissions:
http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
http://chd.sagepub.com
DOI: 10.1177/0907568209335315

This study measures attitudes towards childrens

vulnerability or empowerment within consumer
culture, based on data from a representative
population survey (N = 1475) conducted in
Estonia in 2005. The study use indices comprised
of assessments of consumption practices and
assertions pertaining to the endangered vs
empowered child debate in consumer and
media studies. The results of the analysis show
that consumerism and brand valuation are more
strongly predicted by age and income and opinions
about childrens vulnerability to advertising
are mostly influenced by education and gender.
Attitudes on the socializing role of the media are
poorly explained by sociodemographic variables,
although income and education play a more
important role.

This article addresses the debate of recent decades in the sociology of childhood, consumption and media studies, and focuses on the dichotomy of a
passive and manipulated vs an empowered and creative child, in the context of
the global media and consumer society. Our goal is not to give a new impetus to
this relatively tired discussion, but instead to bring theoretical formulations to
an empirical level. We analyse how popularized versions of theoretical debates
about the consumer and media societys impact on children are related to
different sociodemographic variables (age, gender, income and education).
We also look at how these variables relate to consumers self-reported patterns
of consumption and brand valuation, as well as how different opinions are
related to each other. To reveal which of the sociodemographic variables was
the strongest predictor, regression analysis was used.
Four thematic blocks form the basis of our study. The first block is consumerism, which, in broad terms, is based on Bauman (1992), and refers to
production and appropriation of symbolic goods with the aim of constructing
identity and relations with other people. Related to this is branding as a

355
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

CHILDHOOD 16(3)

strong symbolic mechanism of global capital and consumer society (see

Langer, 2004). The third theme is the media as an agent of socialization (see
Buckingham, 2000, 2003; Kalmus, 2006a), and the fourth is advertising as
a powerful institution of the consumer society, whose impact on childrens
values and behaviour, as well as on parentchild relationships, has been studied
and discussed extensively in recent years (e.g. Andersen, 2007; Buijzen and
Valkenburg, 2003). One of our objectives is to see whether and how peoples
relations with consumerism and branding are associated to their opinions of
childrens vulnerability or empowerment vis-a-vis market power and media
culture.
The following section of the article gives a brief outline of the theoretical
framework used to operationalize the main indicators in our survey. We cannot
give an exhaustive overview of the whole debate and all relevant research (for
a good summary see Martens et al., 2004), but we highlight some key points.
After that we describe the data and research design, followed by the presentation of findings.
From protectionism to optimism: bipolar views of children and
consumer/media society
Endangered children
In the past three or four decades, there has been intense debate about
changing childhoods, which have been brought about by wider social
changes, often accounted for in terms of the development of the information
society, consumer culture and risk society. This debate is characterized
by a continuum of viewpoints ranging from those lamenting the loss of the
innocence and safety of childhood to those celebrating the emancipation and
empowerment of the younger generation. As Cook (2004b: 5) points out:
Each view emphasizes some overemphasize a position along a continuum,
oftentimes to the point of enforcing a dichotomy: the child often is either exploited
or empowered by the market. News media tend to emphasize the former, marketers
the latter, with parents often stuck somewhere in between.

On one end of the continuum stand the critics of childrens media and
consumer culture (from sociologists to news reporters). First, research and
criticism focuses on sedentary lifestyles of children that result in obesity
and unhappiness, accompanied by an insatiable desire for new goods and
experiences (see Kline, 2005; Livingstone, 2005; Schor, 2004).
Second, relationships between parents, teachers and children, and the
changing structure of authority are addressed. For instance, Postman (1983)
argues that electronic media, especially television, have rendered information
uncontrollable. The dangerous mysteries of adult life (particularly sex, drugs
and violence) are no longer hidden from children. More importantly, adults
have lost power over the symbolic environment of the young in the age of
356
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

KELLER AND KALMUS: BETWEEN CONSUMERISM AND PROTECTIONISM

electronic media. As Buckingham (2000: 39) observes, in most such accounts

children are granted little or no independence: all educational proposals are
addressed to adults, urging them to take greater steps to protect or control
children, or to help children resist the influences of the media and the market.
These authors tend to highlight the anti-adultism of childrens media and the
consumer world, which defines children and youngsters in opposition to adult
authority (Kenway and Bullen, 2001; Schor, 2004).
Another problematic theme is childrens participation in commerce and
the economy: the deterioration of the ideas of the priceless and economically
useless child. Childrens growing purchasing power, accompanied by the infamous nag-factor, increases their role as consumers in terms of money and
time spent. This, in turn, changes relations between children and their parents/
teachers, as well as with peers (see Zelizer, 2002).
A fourth set of issues revolves around two interlinked themes: the influence of increasing commodity and media consumption by children on the
notion of childhood in the most abstract sense and the potential impact of the
consumer child on civil society, as well as on social and environmental sustainability and justice (Langer, 2005: 269). Regardless of whether the authors
see children as endangered, or simply acknowledge that the experience of
childhood is undergoing vast changes, the underlying assumption can be summarized in Langers (2005: 264) words:
Global commercial culture, whether accessed through the media or encountered as
part of the landscape of consumer capitalism, is an important source of symbolic
material for children as they put together their projects of self.

Empowered children
At the other end of the continuum lie the accounts that see children as
empowered agents who are media and consumption savvy and who cannot be
manipulated. Very optimistic assertions have been put forward by Tapscott
(1998). Much of his argumentation is based on the claim that, for the first time
in history, children are more knowledgeable and literate than their parents
and teachers about an innovation central to society, that is, computers and the
Internet. He argues that the Net Generation will transform all traditional institutions. Families are becoming more open because children are an authority
on an important issue. Tapscott confidently defines children and young people
as active agents also in their dealings with the media, the market and various
institutions.
In consumer studies, the most optimistic view is, unsurprisingly, that
of marketers. Lindstroms and Seybolds (2003) Brand Child has become
the archetypal construction of the brand and media competent child (see also
Cowell, 2001a, 2001b; McNeal, 1999). Commodities and, particularly, brands
as the bearers of a products sign value are seen as important identity building
blocks. Competent children are portrayed as always being able to judge which
brands truly and authentically respond to their needs.
357
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

CHILDHOOD 16(3)

Sociological and anthropological accounts, which view the child as a

significant social person, are not as extreme as the marketers approach;
however, they are similar in terms of constructing the child as a creative,
autonomous and empowered being (see Zelizer, 2002). Parents shopping for
them and with them is often seen as an act of thrift and devotion (Miller, 1998),
which cannot be understood only in terms of crass materialism or passive submission to the market lure. In several recent studies, we see the focus shift
to branding as a complex phenomenon that creates webs of meanings for
children to draw on in their search to make sense of the world (e.g. Nairn
and Griffin, 2007). Even the term brand-consumer kid has been proposed
(Barcel, 2007). According to Cook (2004a: 151):
Children have become thought of and treated as agentive social actors (by marketers,
parents and academics alike) in large part through their increasingly extensive
participation in commercial life as consumers and beyond. . . . The place and status
of children, and the meaning of childhood itself, are now inseparable from such
things as branding and investment.

However, most recent studies stress that balanced research on childrens

consumer and media culture has to move beyond the either/or debate and
discover how actual positions on the aforementioned continuum are enacted
in the everyday life of children and parents, which factors influence their practices and choices in particular economic and sociocultural contexts. In his
critique of the contrasting viewpoints described in this section, Buckingham
(2000: 62) argues that childhood is changing in much less dramatic and much
more ambivalent and contradictory ways. For instance, he concedes that
relations of authority and power between adults and children are changing:
children are being empowered as experts of new media technologies, as
sovereign consumers and as active producers of information. Yet, they are
continuously denied the opportunity to exercise democratic control or accountability as independent social or political actors. Buckingham (2003) also notes
that previously distinct boundaries between childrens and adults media
worlds are simultaneously disappearing and being reinforced. On the one
hand, children have easier access to media content meant for adults. On the
other hand, children are increasingly participating in globalizing cultural and
social worlds that are inaccessible, even incomprehensible, to their parents
and teachers.
Consumer and media culture in post-socialist Estonia
Estonia is an interesting case, since its post-Communist development, particularly in the economic sphere, has been rapid, leading to its promotion as
a success story, both in the West and in Estonia (Keller and Vihalemm,
2003). The regaining of independence in 1991 ushered in a transition culture
based on a double movement, from plan to market and from totalitarianism to democracy (see Kennedy, 2002). These changes have transformed
358
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

KELLER AND KALMUS: BETWEEN CONSUMERISM AND PROTECTIONISM

relationships between people and things, i.e. brought about new ways for
people to incorporate products and services into their personal lives, in ways
that were not possible under the Soviet regime of scarcity of goods and forced
homogeneity of lifestyle. But these shifts have also generated new tensions
and problems that were not so sharply experienced during the Soviet regime
(Keller, 2004).
Consumerism, that is, consumption practices with an emphasis on
lifestyle and identity creation, has considerable explanatory power in the
context of Estonias emerging consumer society. We have operationalized it
by summarizing various single variables in an index (for details see section
Data and research design) both in this study and earlier. Consumerism forms
coherent patterns with peoples value orientations and self-identification.
Most consumerist people are more self-assertive and power-oriented, as well
as tending to identify themselves with the successful and global citizens
(see Keller and Kalmus, 2004). Also, consumerism has proven to be one of
the predictors of peoples self-attributed status in the social hierarchy: more
consumerist respondents tend to place themselves higher on the social ladder
(see Lauristin, 2004). Our studies have also demonstrated that the younger
age groups are the most consumerist. Therefore, we consider consumerism an
indispensable indicator for studying perceived relationships between children
and the market.
Quantitative research on childrens and youngsters consumption habits
is rather limited; thus, we have to rely on the few qualitative studies conducted
so far (Raamat, 2005; Uibu, 2005), which show that independence and the
market economy have given rise to symbolic consumption, which forms an
important part of young peoples everyday lives. According to these studies,
the position of parents is rather protectionist, as they fear that their children
are unable to steer adequately through manipulative advertising messages and
the overall consumption landscape. Most children do not perceive themselves
as being affected by advertisements, yet they desire and buy items they have
seen advertised (Jaaska, 2006). It is the same with clothing brands: despite the
fact that often youngsters views of brands in general are pejorative, brands
still seem to be rather desirable among the respondents. Estonian children and
youngsters see the material culture in both expressive and oppressive terms:
though different commodities and brands are perceived as cultural resources
and a way of self-construction, they equally cause stress by emphasizing ones
material welfare, social status, lifestyle and individual and group identity
(Raamat, 2005; Uibu, 2005).
Also, rapid development in the field of information and communication
technology (ICT) in Estonia has occurred in the post-Soviet era. The growth of
access to, and use of, the Internet since the 1990s has been almost exponential.
The share of Internet users among the 6- to 74-year-old population rose from
14 percent in autumn 1998 to 65 percent in spring 2007 (TNS Emor, 2007).
Differences between sociodemographic groups, especially between different
359
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

CHILDHOOD 16(3)

generations, in the usage of the Internet and in following global TV channels

are still notable: younger people are much more active in this respect. Also,
comparative surveys (e.g. MEDIAPPRO, 2006) reveal that Estonian adolescents (aged 1218) are among the most vigorous and self-confident Internet
users compared with their peers in Europe. Moreover, Estonian teenagers are
the computer experts in the family: two-thirds of children are never advised
or helped by their parents, almost every second child often helps his or her
mother and every third adolescent gives advice to his or her father (Kalmus,
2007). On the one hand, such asymmetric communication may result in significant gaps in understanding between parents and children: 77 percent of adolescents agree with the statement Adults do not understand very well what
children and young people do on the Internet (Kalmus, 2007). On the other
hand, teenagers expertise in new media technology facilitates democratic
family cultures and reverse socialization (see Livingstone and Bober, 2005)
when adults learn from their children or grandchildren how to use computers
and the Internet. Our studies also show that the share of Internet users among
people in the age range 3064 has risen considerably in the last few years
(Kalmus, 2006b).
Data and research design
Our analysis is based on data from the survey Me. The World. The Media,
which covered the Estonian population aged 1574. A self-administered
questionnaire, together with a follow-up interview, was used. The survey was
carried out in November 2005 with a sample size of 1475. A proportional
model of the general population (by areas and urban/rural division) and
multi-step probability random sampling were used. In addition, a quota
was used to include a proportional number of Estonians and Russians in the
sample. Fieldworkers applied the method of starting address for sampling the
households and the rule of the youngest man for sampling the respondents
in households.
We have operationalized the bipolar theoretical assumptions about
childrens relationships with advertising, the market and the media in the form
of five pairs of oppositional assertions (see Table 1). Respondents agreement
with those assertions was measured on a five-point scale (I totally agree with
A I rather agree with A Difficult to say I rather agree with B I
totally agree with B). With some reservations, we can interpret the percentage
of answers Difficult to say to those questions as an indicator of the extent of
the lack of reflexivity on the issues.
By summarizing the codes of answers given to several questions measuring the same phenomenon, we formed aggregated variables or indices. The
five pairs of oppositional assertions were reduced to four indices (see Table
1). The index of protectionism of children against advertising and consumption summarizes a respondents agreement with three assertions of type A
360
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

KELLER AND KALMUS: BETWEEN CONSUMERISM AND PROTECTIONISM

Table 1 Assertion pairs and indices concerning childrens relationships with

advertising, consumption and the media
A

B
Optimism with regard to advertising
and consumption (min. = 0,
max. = 6)

Protectionism of children against

advertising and consumption
(min. = 0, max. = 6)
1 Children are defenceless in the face of
advertising and it is easy to manipulate
them.
2 Advertising targeted at children
is harmful; it raises excessive
consumerism.
3 Children should be kept away from all
kinds of advertising and shopping malls,
because consumer society corrupts
children.
Criticism towards the socializing role of
the media (min. = 0, max. = 4)
4 Through media, children get to know the
downside of the adult world too early.
5 The media world of children and
youngsters is hard to understand
for adults and this increases the gap
between generations.

Children are ingenious and think

independently; they cannot be
manipulated.
Advertising targeted at children is
useful; it teaches children orientation
in the consumer world.
One should go shopping with children
and analyse ads with them in order to
raise them as conscious consumers.
Optimism with regard to the
socializing role of the media
(min. = 0, max. = 4)
Media help children develop faster
and get to know the world better.
Parents can participate in the
youngsters world through media and
this makes them understand each
other better.

(I totally agree with A adds two points to the index; I rather agree with
A adds one point; the index scale ranges from zero to six). According to the
same logic, the index of optimism with regard to advertising and consumption
summarizes a respondents agreement with three assertions of type B. The
indices of criticism towards the socializing role of the media, and optimism
with regard to the socializing role of the media summarize a respondents
agreement with two assertions of type A and B, respectively.
In order to measure a more symbolic aspect of consumption (i.e. consumption practices and preferences that are more expressive and revealing
of peoples identity building and lifestyle), we constructed an index of consumerism. This index summarizes positive answers to questions about 11
consumption practices and preferences (each positive answer adds one point to
the index, with the scale ranging from zero to 11): having clothes tailor-made;
preference for certain clothing brands; buying clothing abroad; considering
fit of clothing more important than price; considering brand of clothing more
important than price; following a specific style of home-decoration; having a
personal hairdresser; having a personal cosmetician; having a personal masseur; regular gym going; doing aerobics.
361
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

CHILDHOOD 16(3)

To measure the importance of brands, we use the index of valuation of

brands, which summarizes a respondents agreement with two assertions: The
brands someone consumes tell a lot about the person and It is important to
me what impression the brands I consume make (the answer I totally agree
adds two points to the index; I rather agree adds one point; the scale ranges
from zero to four).
We analyse how these opinions (single variables and indices) are related
to four sociodemographic variables (age, gender, income and education). Most
of these variables proved to have remarkable explanatory force in our previous
quantitative study on consumerism: younger age groups, respondents with
higher income and more highly educated people tended to be significantly
more consumerist (Keller and Kalmus, 2004). We expect to find analogous
patterns in this study; also, we assume that the same groups tend to value
brands more highly. As different age groups vary greatly in terms of life
experience, family roles (children, parents or grandparents) and contexts of
primary socialization, we expect to find interesting patterns in their attitudes
towards childrens relationships with advertising and media. We also assume
that more highly educated people may show higher levels of reflexivity and
criticism with regard to these problems.
Gender has turned out to be a controversial predictor in previous research
on childrens consumption habits: some studies have found girls to be more
brand-influenced than boys (e.g. Schor, 2004), while Wilskas (2005) studies
in Finland revealed boys as more branded. Our aim is to find out how genderdetermined Estonian respondents consumption habits and brand-related attitudes are. Also, we assume that, due to relatively gendered role division in
parenting in Estonia, respondents sex is a significant factor in determining
opinions regarding children vis-a-vis the market and the media.
To reveal which of the sociodemographic variables is the strongest
predictor of the phenomena measured by the six indices, we used regression
analysis.
Our previous research showed that consumerism is strongly related to
value orientations and other cognitive phenomena (Keller and Kalmus, 2004).
By analysing correlations between the indices, we expect to find coherent
patterns in peoples habits and attitudes related to consumption, children and
the media.
Reflexivity and opinions on children, consumption and the media
Figure 1 illustrates the percentage distribution of responses to the five pairs
of oppositional assertions. The responses I totally agree with A and I rather
agree with A are summarized in the Protectionist/critical pole, and the responses I totally agree with B and I rather agree with B are grouped together
in the Optimistic pole. The middle point of these dimensions is represented
by the response Difficult to say. With some reservations, we may consider
362
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

KELLER AND KALMUS: BETWEEN CONSUMERISM AND PROTECTIONISM

90
80
70
60

Protectionist/
Critical

50

Difficult to say

40

Optimistic

30
20
10
5

n
se
rti
o
As

As

se
rti
o

3
n
se
rti
o
As

n
se
rti
o
As

As

se
rti
o

Figure 1 Agreement with assertions about childrens relationships with advertising,

consumption and the media (in percentages)

the percentage of those who expressed an opinion as a level of reflexivity, i.e.

consciousness and well-shaped opinions on the given issue.
It was easiest to express an opinion about the vulnerability of children to
advertising (Assertion 1), while other aspects of the influence of the consumer
and media society on children were less readily addressed. The statement pair
on the medias role in shaping intergenerational relations (Assertion 5) was
most difficult for the respondents.
It appeared that childrens concrete self-positioning (Assertions 1 and 4)
was clearer to young respondents (15- to 19-year-olds) when compared to
more complex influences of advertising and the media in the process of socialization (Assertions 2, 3 and 5). In the latter case, older age groups expressed
clear opinions more readily.
Education also had an impact on whether people formed a particular
opinion or not, but it seemed to be question-specific. In the case of the first
two assertions, respondents with higher levels of education had the lowest
level of responding Difficult to say, showing their greater readiness and
ability to contemplate these issues. However, in other assertions, education
level was not a differentiator.
As to other sociodemographic variables, no significant differences in the
levels of reflexivity can be observed.
Although the majority of the respondents stated that, while advertising
is harmful and manipulative, they felt that children should not be blindfolded
and should be educated to become skilful in the consumer world. The first
assertion pair is the most black and white: 78 percent of the respondents
thought that advertising manipulates children (see Figure 1). In respect to the
third, most radically prescriptive pair of assertions, most of the respondents
363
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

CHILDHOOD 16(3)

expressed an optimistic viewpoint. Apparently, keeping children away from

advertising and shopping malls seems unrealistic in everyday life.
Opinions about the socializing role of the media were more ambivalent
and dispersed. A significant number of the respondents (43 percent) agreed
that through media children get to know the downside of the adult world too
early (Assertion 4). This viewpoint was most characteristic of the oldest age
group. At the same time, the largest group of respondents (47 percent) saw the
media as a connector between generations (Assertion 5). The most optimistic
group in this respect were people aged 4564.
On the aggregate level, protectionism in regard to advertising and consumption had a higher mean value than the optimistic side of the scale (see
Table 2; the mean difference was significant at .000). Thus, Estonian respondents, in general, tended to be relatively protectionist and normative towards
relationships between children and the consumer society. Optimism about the
socializing role of the media, however, was higher than criticism (the mean
difference was significant at .000).
Consumerism, protectionism and optimism in sociodemographic
groups
Age: As expected, opinions about brands and consumerist practices were
age specific. As Table 2 illustrates, young people aged 1529 valued brands
most and were the most consumerist. The mean of the consumerism index was
highest among 15- to 19-year-olds (3.2), and more than twice as high as in the
oldest age group. It is also noteworthy that in a similar survey, carried out at
the end of 2002, only 9.5 percent of the youngest age group reported very
high consumerism (see Keller and Kalmus, 2004), whereas in this study the
same indicator was 23.2 percent.
Protectionism was highest among the generation of parents (ages 3044),
while optimism regarding advertising and consumption, as well as regarding
the media, was lowest in this group. Obviously this age group daily faces problems of socializing children in the consumer and media society, which causes
concern as well as setting high (self)-expectations for parents (see also Uibu,
2005). The youngest age group was least protectionist, probably because they
had no wish to admit to their own vulnerability and manipulability.
In the older age group, protectionism in regard to advertising and consumption was lower, while optimism was higher. This may have been due to
grandparents having less involvement in educating children in terms of their
consumer socialization path.
Interestingly, optimism towards the socializing role of the media was
highest among 45- to 64-year-olds. A possible explanation lies in the fact
that among people in this age range, the share of Internet users has risen
remarkably in the last few years (Kalmus, 2006b). As recent adopters of new
media technology, they may be more enthusiastic about its role in connecting
364
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

0.43
3.20
1.96
0.90
0.74
0.95

0.32
2.37
2.29
1.01
0.79
0.90

Valuation of brands (max. 4)

Consumerism (max. 11)
Protectionism against advertising and
consumption (max. 6)
Optimism with regard to advertising and
consumption (max. 6)
Criticism towards the socializing role of
the media (max. 4)
Optimism with regard to the socializing
role of the media (max. 4)

151

1475

1519

All

Indices

Table 2 Consumerism, protectionism and optimism by age (means)

0.84

0.75

0.92

0.45
2.90
2.35

273

2029

0.80

0.80

0.90

0.33
2.69
2.49

393

3044

1.03

0.68

1.11

0.22
1.96
2.24

263

4554

1.04

0.81

1.16

0.30
1.86
2.26

209

5564

0.86

0.99

1.12

0.18
1.39
2.16

186

6574

2.7

2.9

5.4
36.2
2.8

.018

NS

.013

.000
.000
.017

Sig.

KELLER AND KALMUS: BETWEEN CONSUMERISM AND PROTECTIONISM

Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

365

CHILDHOOD 16(3)

generations. Also, as parents of older children or grandparents, they may

be less concerned with the risks and problems related to young childrens
media use.
Gender: Table 3 displays differences between males and females. As
expected, womens consumerism was higher, since the index contained
several appearance- (clothing, fitness) related indicators, which generally
are more valued among women. Although when compiling the questionnaire
we dedicated considerable attention to designing questions and attributes
men could identify with, men were still obviously cautious when answering
questions with even remotely feminine connotations. At the same time, men
tended to value brands as potential status and lifestyle indicators more than
women did.
Interestingly, men were considerably more protectionist regarding advertising, consumption and children, whereas women were more optimistic.
Previous research also suggests that mothers are more involved when it
comes to raising children as consumers, both in terms of providing necessary
consumer goods for them, as well as influencing their value formation (see
also Carlson et al., 1992; Uibu, 2005). When it comes to assessing media
as a socializing agent, men and women exhibited no differences. This may
be explained by the more abstract nature of the assertions about the media,
which probably evoked no assumptions related to gendered role division in
parenting.
Income: Table 4 shows differences between three income groups. Quite
predictably, valuation of brands and consumerism was closely related to
income per family member. Those who have more money at their disposal
have a greater choice of affordable brands, which in turn leads to more
awareness of the distinctions brands can create among consumers.
Table 3 Consumerism, protectionism and optimism by gender (means)
Indices

Males

Females

Sig.

687

788

Valuation of brands (max. 4)

Consumerism (max. 11)
Protectionism against advertising and
consumption (max. 6)
Optimism with regard to advertising and
consumption (max. 6)
Criticism towards the socializing role of
the media (max. 4)
Optimism with regard to the socializing
role of the media (max. 4)

0.38
2.19
2.43

0.27
2.52
2.17

3.0
3.6
3.0

.002
.000
.003

0.85

1.14

4.9

.000

0.81

0.78

NS

0.85

0.95

NS

366
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

KELLER AND KALMUS: BETWEEN CONSUMERISM AND PROTECTIONISM

Table 4 Consumerism, protectionism and optimism by income per family member

(means)
Indices

Low

Average

High

Sig.

502

461

455

Valuation of brands (max. 4)

Consumerism (max. 11)
Protectionism against advertising and
consumption (max. 6)
Optimism with regard to advertising and
consumption (max. 6)
Criticism towards the socializing role of
the media (max. 4)
Optimism with regard to the socializing
role of the media (max. 4)

0.25
1.97
2.28

0.33
2.32
2.23

0.39
2.90
2.39

5.3
36.0

.005
.000
NS

1.04

1.09

0.90

3.6

.028

0.88

0.79

0.70

3.4

.035

0.85

0.90

0.98

NS

Income did not play a role in how protectionist respondents were in

terms of advertising and consumption. Respondents with low and average
income, however, were more optimistic in this respect. We believe that such
opinions were not directly influenced by income; rather, the influence factor
behind income was age. Namely, lower income per family member tends to
be characteristic of retired people (in particular the age group 6574); also,
elderly people were inclined to be more optimistic in regard to advertising and
consumption. The low-income group was also more critical about media as a
socializing agent.
Education: Table 5 displays differences between three educational groups.
Respondents with secondary and higher education were more consumerist.
Table 5 Consumerism, protectionism and optimism by education (means)
Indices

Below
Secondary Higher F
secondary

281

817

340

Valuation of brands (max. 4)

Consumerism (max. 11)
Protectionism against advertising
and consumption (max. 6)
Optimism with regard to advertising
and consumption (max. 6)
Criticism towards the socializing
role of the media (max. 4)
Optimism with regard to the
socializing role of the media
(max. 4)

0.31
1.95
1.81

0.30
2.33
2.31

0.37
2.90
2.63

NS
24.3 .000
2.00 .000

1.16

1.00

0.89

4.65 .010

0.68

0.81

0.84

NS

1.03

0.86

0.90

NS

367
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

Sig.

CHILDHOOD 16(3)

A possible explanation is their greater attention to appearance (e.g. a need

to look good at the workplace); this might also be connected with the higher
income of more educated people.
It is not surprising that people with higher education are also the most
protectionist and least optimistic about children and consumption. A higher
level of education raises awareness of the potential damage caused by the
manipulative influence of advertising and excessive consumption. At the same
time, educational differences in the level of criticism towards the medias role
were not statistically significant.
General thought patterns and tendencies
In order to reveal more general thought patterns behind the different phenomena analysed in this study, we calculated correlations between the indices.
Predictably, valuation of brands and consumerism correlated (Pearsons
r = .17; p < .001); thus, more consumerist people tended to place a higher
value on brands as notable indicators of status and lifestyle. A more interesting
finding were the correlations between valuation of brands and protectionism
(r = .13; p < .001), and valuation of brands and criticism (r = .10; p < .001).
We may assume this is connected with reflexivity, i.e. when one acknowledges
the importance of brands for contemporary consumers self-formation and
identity, one also tends to be more aware of the dangers this may bring along.
Consumerism had weak, though statistically significant, correlations with protectionism (r = .06; p < .05), as well as with both indices of optimism (r = .06
and r = .07, respectively; p < .05).
Protectionism and criticism were highly correlated (r = .45; p < .001):
those who were more negative in terms of the manipulative power of advertising
also tended to view the medias role as a socializing agent negatively. Correspondingly, the strong positive correlation between the two indices of optimism
(r = .49; p < .001) reveals an underlying set of beliefs, according to which
children are active agents in their dealings with advertising and the media, and
the latter can play a positive role in the process of socialization.
Regression analysis
In order to reveal which of the sociodemographic variables had the strongest
effect on the indices, we carried out linear regression analysis (see Table 6).
We achieved the best fit of the regression model in the case of the index
of consumerism: the model explains nearly 20 percent of the total variance,
whereas all independent variables (age and income, in particular) were significant predictors. This can be explained by the fact that the index of consumerism involved statements about clear-cut and presumably factual consumption
practices and preferences, which are directly influenced by ones lifestyle
and economic possibilities. The latter, in turn, were strongly related to sociodemographic characteristics. Other indices summarize agreement with more
368
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

.000
.000
.000
.000

.11
.06
.08
NS

.000
.038
.002

Sig.

.000

NS
.09
NS
.17

.033

R2

.000

.001

Sig.

.000

Sig.

Protectionism against
advertising and
consumption

Gender was recoded into a dummy variable where 0 = female and 1 = male.

Age
Gendera
Income
Education

.34
.15
.21
.14

Sig.

Independent
variables

.000

.197

.023

R2

Sig.

R2

Model fit

Sig.

Valuation of
brands

Consumerism

Dependent
variables

Table 6 Results of regression analysis

.08
.13
NS
.10

.029

R2

.000

.002
.000

Sig.

.000

Sig.

Optimism with regard

to advertising and
consumption

NS
NS
.09
.08

.008

R2

.002
.008

Sig.

.001

Sig.

Criticism towards
the socializing role
of the media

NS
.06
.06
.06

.006

R2

.019
.024
.029

Sig.

.012

Sig.

Optimism with regard

to the socializing role
of the media

KELLER AND KALMUS: BETWEEN CONSUMERISM AND PROTECTIONISM

Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

369

CHILDHOOD 16(3)

abstract assertions, which could probably be explained by other cognitive

phenomena, such as beliefs and values, rather than by sociodemographic
characteristics. Nevertheless, some independent variables in our models have
greater explanatory power. For instance, valuation of brands was, similarly to
consumerism, more strongly predicted by age and income. The two indices
summarizing opinions about childrens vulnerability to advertising and consumption were mostly influenced by education and gender. The indices summarizing opinions about the socializing role of the media are, in general,
poorly explained by sociodemographic variables; among them, however,
income and education played a more important role.
Discussion
This study attempted to reveal how popular versions of theoretical viewpoints
are distributed across different sociodemographic groups.
On the whole, the opinion of the vulnerability of children to advertising
was most easily expressed, while other aspects of the influence of consumer and
media society on children were less readily addressed. This may be explained
by the prevalence of advertising-related debate in the media. It seems that advertising was viewed as an archetypal institution of the consumer society, which
symbolically incarnates many of the problematic themes referred to earlier. It
also appears that questions related to childrens self-positioning were clearer
to young respondents when compared to more complex phenomena related
to advertising and the media in the process of socialization. However, we
have certain reservations and do not interpret the response Difficult to say
as unequivocally indicating a lack of reflexivity. It may also demonstrate, for
some people, an acknowledgement of the complexity of these issues, which
impedes choice between either/or positions.
As protectionism in regard to advertising and consumption had a higher
mean value than the optimistic side of the scale, we conclude that adults,
as well as youngsters, tend to be relatively protectionist and normative in
terms of the consumer society. This may be explained by the rapid growth
of the consumer market and the relatively new phenomenon of marketing
to children in post-socialist Estonia. Both children and grown-ups are faced
with constant negotiations between media and market-generated desire,
peer pressure, economic constraints and moral ambiguities. These tend to
be intensified by the relative novelty of the consumer society and parents
and grandparents personal, vivid memories of the Soviet past, which evoke
nostalgia for a purer life uncontaminated by the consumer race for status and
market-produced satisfaction of desire (see Keller, 2004).
Opinions about the socializing role of the media are more ambivalent.
Still, our respondents tended to agree with the critical discourse about the
media as corrupting the innocence and safety of childhood. At the same
time, the largest number of respondents see the media as a connector of
370
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

KELLER AND KALMUS: BETWEEN CONSUMERISM AND PROTECTIONISM

generations; they do not perceive the childrens media world as inaccessible

and incomprehensible (see Buckingham, 2003). A possible explanation lies
in the overall fascination with new media in Estonia: the share of Internet users
has risen remarkably in the last few years; children teach their parents about
the secrets and possibilities of the Internet universe; and public discourses
can be characterized as celebrating an image of Estonia as a successful e-state,
and as lacking reflexivity and criticism on potential risks and problems related
to childrens use of new media.
Quite predictably, the youngest consumers valued expressive dimensions of consumption most and their consumerism is also growing most
rapidly along with the general rise of living standards in Estonia. This is the
generation of the children of freedom, born at the very end of the Soviet
Union or after Estonia regained independence. According to Langer (2005:
262), for these children the symbolic resources for . . . self-formation are
increasingly commercial in origin, and childrens capacity for spontaneity
and creativity is exercised within a commercially constituted life world. At
the same time, their parents generation expressed the greatest concerns with
the responsibility to socialize children as competent consumers and citizens,
roles that sometimes go hand in hand, but more often tend to force families to
face the conflict between opposing notions of private and public, materialist
and non-materialist, global and local (or western and Estonian) and
commercially produced and self-made.
Men tend to value brands more highly, and at the same time are more
protectionist in terms of children and consumption, whereas women are consumerist in their own orientations and more optimistic when it comes to children
and consumer culture. This resonates with the gender-determined division of
labour in parenting. Women, being relatively consumerist, yet responsible
mothers, obviously view themselves as sufficiently empowered and active
agents to believe in successfully tackling the demanding consumer mother
role. We may assume that being consumerist oneself, but attempting to raise
children in a very protectionist manner, could lead to considerable cognitive
dissonance.
Respondents with higher education were more consumerist, but also
the most protectionist and least optimistic when it comes to children and the
consumer world. It seems that these people perceive their life world (e.g. workplace, social contacts and status) as presenting them with specific requirements
for consumption, while at the same time their educational capital (relatively
greater familiarity with versions of the aforementioned theoretical and public
debates) and analytical skills make them more sensitive to potential dangers
caused by global capitalism.
Correlations between indices demonstrate that the opinions formed certain patterns. It is interesting that there were correlations between valuation of
brands, protectionism and criticism. Behind this, we see a type of consumer
who is reflective and conscious of the potential hazards and negative impact,
371
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

CHILDHOOD 16(3)

particularly for children, imposed by the consumption- and media-saturated

society. At the same time, they appropriate commercially produced and
branded goods and services into their personal life world, accepting their sign
value and symbolic power. These seemingly opposing phenomena are connected, which once more emphasizes the need to move beyond either/or,
both in theoretical discussion and empirical data interpretations. Contrary to
our expectations, consumerism had weak and ambiguous correlations with attitudes towards childrens relationships with advertising and the media: among
consumerist respondents we found both protectionists and optimists. Thus,
we need to acknowledge that how consumption is experienced in practice is
immensely more complex than contradictory theoretical assertions and can
never simply be determined by them.
While consumerism was well predicted by sociodemographic variables
(age and income, in particular), regression analysis on other indices (especially
the ones concerning the socializing role of the media) did not produce equally
good models. We assume that peoples understanding of those relatively abstract questions can be better explained by other cognitive phenomena, such
as beliefs and values; thus, further research is needed in this respect.
Although consumption and media use are increasingly more global in
nature, especially for the younger generations, there are still several aspects
characteristic of the developing and small Estonian post-socialist market
society that help to explain the patterns of opinions and practices outlined
in this study. For more than 15 years, the dominant ideology in Estonia has
been very liberal, complemented by a remarkable e-optimism. Both of these
factors have placed consumption and new media at centre stage for large
numbers of people, especially the young. However, commercial communication targeted at children is limited compared to the old western consumer
societies. Moreover, it exists mostly in the form of traditional mass-market TV
or print advertising, complemented by some specifically child-oriented commercial websites. Very sophisticated new media-based marketing strategies,
as outlined, for example, by Montgomery and Chester (2007), are scarcely
used by local companies and brands. Also, there has been a lack of debate and
research on the impact of international marketing on Estonian children, which
leads us to believe that awareness of media- and market-related risks, both
online and offline, is low. Thus, fairly clear-cut opinions about advertisings
harmful effect on children exist, but other aspects of the complex media and
consumption landscape are a relative blind spot for parents and children
themselves, as well as for the mass media and policy-makers. As commercial
enterprises tend to always be several steps ahead of the academic, as well as
policy-making, community, we sense a strong need for more debate and for
building bridges between the different groups, in order to enhance media and
consumer literacy, not only among children but also among parents, grandparents and teachers, who in many respects, due to their complex historical
legacy, are still learning to consume.
372
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

KELLER AND KALMUS: BETWEEN CONSUMERISM AND PROTECTIONISM

Acknowledgements
The preparation of this article was supported by grant No. 6968, financed by the Estonian
Science Foundation, and grant No. SF0180017s07, financed by the Estonian Governmental
Scientific Research Support Scheme.

References
Andersen, L.P. (2007) Why Dont They just Show the Product? Tweens Reception and
Conception of TV-Advertising, in K.M. Ekstrm and B. Tufte (eds) Children, Media and
Consumption: On the Front Edge, pp. 21120. Gteborg: Nordicom.
Barcel, M.T.F. (2007) From Buy me Something to I Want This , in K.M. Ekstrm and
B. Tufte (eds) Children, Media and Consumption: On the Front Edge, pp. 21120.
Gteborg: Nordicom.
Bauman, Z. (1992) Intimations of Postmodernity. London: Routledge.
Buckingham, D. (2000) After the Death of Childhood: Growing up in the Age of Electronic
Media. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Buckingham, D. (2003) Media Education: Literacy, Learning and Contemporary Culture.
Cambridge: Polity Press.
Buijzen, M. and P. Valkenburg (2003) The Unintended Effects of Television Advertising: A
ParentChild Survey, Communication Research 30(5): 483503.
Carlson, L., S. Grossbart and J.K. Stuenkel (1992) The Role of Parental Socialization Types
on Differential Family Communication Patterns Regarding Consumption, Journal of
Consumer Psychology 1(1): 3152.
Cook, D. (2004a) Beyond Either/Or, Journal of Consumer Culture 7(4): 14753.
Cook, D. (2004b) The Commodification of Childhood: The Childrens Clothing Industry and the
Rise of the Child Consumer. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Cowell, P. (2001a) Marketing to Children: A Guide for Students and Practitioners Part 1, The
Marketing Review 1: 47385.
Cowell, P. (2001b) Marketing to Children: A Guide for Students and Practitioners Part 2, The
Marketing Review 2: 7187.
Jaaska, U. (2006) Estonian Childrens Interpretations of Promotional Websites [in Estonian],
unpublished bachelors thesis; at: www.jrnl.ut.ee/loputood/2006bakatood/ (accessed
May 2007).
Kalmus, V. (2006a) Socialisation in the Changing Learning Environment: Some Considerations for Research, in E. Bruillard, B. Aamotsbakken, S.V. Knudsen and M. Horsley
(eds) Caught in the Web or Lost in the Textbook?, pp. 22533. Paris: STEF, IARTEM
(International Association for Research on Textbooks and Educational Media), IUFM
de Basse-Normandie; at: www.caen.iufm.fr/colloque_iartem/acte.html (accessed June
2007).
Kalmus, V. (2006b) Will All Grandmothers Surf the Net? Changing Patterns of Digital Gender
Inequality in Estonia, in F. Sudweeks, H. Hrachovec and C. Ess (eds) Cultural Attitudes
towards Technology and Communication 2006, pp. 50520. Perth: Murdoch University.
Kalmus, V. (2007) Estonian Adolescents Expertise in the Internet in Comparative Perspective,
Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psycho-Social Research on the Internet 1; at: www.
cyberpsychology.eu/view.php?cisloclanku=2007070702 (accessed January 2008).
Keller, M. (2004) Representations of Consumer Culture in Post-Soviet Estonia: Transformations
and Tensions. Tartu: Tartu University Press.
Keller, M. and V. Kalmus (2004) From Consumerism to Indifference towards Consumption:
Consumer Orientations in Todays Estonia [in Estonian], in V. Kalmus, M. Lauristin
and P. Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt (eds) Estonian Life-World at the Beginning of the 21st

373
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

CHILDHOOD 16(3)

Century: Overview of the Findings of the Survey Me. The World. The Media, pp. 201
16. Tartu: Tartu University Press.
Keller, M. and T. Vihalemm (2003) Return to the Consuming West: Young Peoples
Perceptions about the Consumerization of Estonia, Young 11(3): 195215.
Kennedy, M. (2002) Cultural Formations of Post-Communism: Emancipation, Transition,
Nation and War. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Kenway, J. and E. Bullen (2001) Consuming Children: Education Entertainment Advertising.
Buckingham and Philadelphia: Open University Press.
Kline, S. (2005) Countering Childrens Sedentary Lifestyles: An Evaluative Study of a MediaRisk Education Approach, Childhood 12(2): 23958.
Langer, B. (2004) The Business of Branded Enchantment: Ambivalence and Disjuncture in the
Global Childrens Culture, Journal of Consumer Culture 4(2): 25177.
Langer, B. (2005) Research Note: Consuming Anomie: Children and Global Commercial
Culture, Childhood 12(2): 25971.
Lauristin, M. (2004) Stratification of the Estonian Society [in Estonian], in V. Kalmus,
M. Lauristin and P. Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt (eds) Estonian Life-World at the Beginning
of the 21st Century: Overview of the Findings of the Survey Me. The World. The Media,
pp. 25185. Tartu: Tartu University Press.
Lindstrom, M. and P. Seybold (2003) Brandchild: Remarkable Insights into the Minds of
Todays Global Kids and Their Relationships with Brands. London: Kogan Page.
Livingstone, S. (2005) Assessing the Research Base for the Policy Debate over the Effects of
Food Advertising to Children, International Journal of Advertising 24(3): 27396.
Livingstone, S. and M. Bober (2005) UK Children Go Online: Final Report of Key Project
Findings. London: Economic and Social Research Council; at: www.children-go-online.
net (accessed July 2006).
McNeal, J. (1999) The Kids Market: Myths and Realities. Ithaca, NY: Paramount Market.
Martens, L., D. Southerton and S. Scott (2004) Bringing Children (and Parents) into the
Sociology of Consumption, Journal of Consumer Culture 4(2): 15582.
MEDIAPPRO (2006) A European Research Project: The Appropriation of New Media by Youth.
Brussels: Chaptal Communication with the Support of the European Commission/Safer
Internet Action Plan.
Miller, D. (1998) The Theory of Shopping. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Montgomery, K.C. and J. Chester (2007) Food Advertising to Children in the New Digital
Marketing Ecosystem, in K.M. Ekstrm and B. Tufte (eds) Children, Media and
Consumption: On the Front Edge, pp. 17994. Gteborg: Nordicom.
Nairn, A. and C. Griffin. (2007) Busted are Cool but Barbies a Minger: The Role of Advertising and Brands in the Everyday Lives of Junior School Children, in K.M. Ekstrm
and B. Tufte (eds) Children, Media and Consumption: On the Front Edge, pp. 195209.
Gteborg: Nordicom.
Postman, N. (1983) The Disappearance of Childhood. London: W.H. Allen.
Raamat, R. (2005) The Interpretation of Clothing Brands among High School Students [in
Estonian], unpublished bachelors thesis; at: www.jrnl.ut.ee/loputood/2005bakatood/
(accessed May 2007).
Schor, J. (2004) Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture.
New York: Scribner.
Tapscott, D. (1998) Growing up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
TNS Emor (2007) There are 768 000 Internet Users in Estonia [in Estonian], Summary of the
E-monitoring Report; at: www.emor.ee/arhiiv.html?id=1778 (accessed June 2007).
Uibu, M. (2005) Children and Consumer Culture: The Interpretations of Estonian Parents
[in Estonian], unpublished bachelors thesis; at: www.jrnl.ut.ee/loputood/2005bakatood/
(accessed May 2007).

374
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010

KELLER AND KALMUS: BETWEEN CONSUMERISM AND PROTECTIONISM

Wilska, T.A. (2005) Gender Differences in the Consumption of Children and Young People
in Finland, in T.A. Wilska and L. Haanp (eds) Lifestyles and Social Change: Essays
in Economic Sociology, Series Discussion and Working Papers 11, pp. 15976. Turku:
Turku School of Economics and Business Administration.
Zelizer, V. (2002) Kids and Commerce, Childhood 9(4): 37596.

375
Downloaded from http://chd.sagepub.com by Rodrigo Gonzalez on March 7, 2010