Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2006, Page 73

Constructing identities in children’s
cultures of consumption
Samleikagerð í nýtslumentanini hjá børnum
Erika Anne Hayfield', John Davis2, David Marsden1
1 Napier University, 219 Colinton Road, Edinburgh EH14 ÍDJ, Scotland.
Emails: e.hayfield@napier.ac.uk; d.marsden@napier.ac.uk
2 Edinburgh University, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ, Scotland.
Email: john.davis@ed.ac.uk
Úrtak
Bøm í vesturheiminum, eisini í føroyum, gerast meira
og meira framkomin og vand sum brúkarar. Kortini er
vitanin um, hvussu bøm sjálv uppliva og samskifta um
nýtslu i teirra mentanum, sera avmarkað. Hetta er fyrst
og fremst orsakað av, at tað er sjónarhomið hjá teimum
vaksnu, sum er grundarlagið, tá ið børn verða granskað.
í hesari grein verður tískil roynt at lýsa úr sjónarhom-
inum hjá børnum, hvønn leiklut nýtsla hevur, tá ið
samleikin hjá børnum verður skapaður. Greinin hevur
støði í einari etnografiskari kanning, sum varð gjørd i
Skotlandi, og úrslitini verða nýtt til at vísa á øki sum
kundi verið áhugaverd at granska í Føroyum.
Abstract
Children in the Westem world, including the Faroe
Islands, are increasingly sophisticated consumers. Yet,
little is known about how childrcn themselves experi-
ence and mediate consumption in their cultures. The
reason for this is primarily grounded in the adult-centric
approach which has traditionally been applied in re-
search with children. Therefore, this paper attempts to
understand what role consumption plays in the construc-
tion of identity among children from a child-centric
perspective. The paper draws on an ethnographic study
conducted in Scotland and uses thcse findings to map
out some areas which usefully could be explored in the
Faroese context.
Introduction
Considering the arnount of time children in
the Western world spend consuming i.e.
choosing, shopping, exchanging, using,
watching adverts and discussing consumer
goods it is highly surprising that within the
social sciences very little attention has been
directed towards this important issue. Not
until the past few decades have children’s
cultures of consumption beconte an in-
creasingly critical issue for academics, mar-
keters, social policy ntakers and various wel-
fare groups. Therefore, as a major influence
on daily life, consumption in childhood can-
not be avoided by researchers.
Some have argued that for adults gener-
ally, market values and childhood sit un-
comfortably together (Cook, 2005; Seiter,
1993), resulting in this field of research fre-
quently being overlooked - or even avoided.
This has led to a range of conflicting dis-
courses surrounding children as consumers.
Although there are variations, generally
Fróðskaparrit 54. bók 2006: 71-95