Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2006, Page 77

SAMLEIKAGERÐ í NÝTSLUMENTANINI HJÁ BØRNUM
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sumption (both mundane and out of the or-
dinary) serves as a symbolic resource of
great importance to individual and group
identity construction (Elliott and Wattana-
suwan, 1998). The question is therefore,
whether one can assume that this literature
on identity and consumption equally applies
to children as consumers.
In one study Kjeldgaard (2003: 285)
found that youngsters are active in con-
structing their identities through consump-
tion yet, the “...global and local structures
also determine the resources and thereby the
identity possibilities available”. This means
that when constructing their identities chil-
dren cannot simply construct any identity of
their pick. There are various structural as-
pects, such as where they live and the con-
sumer goods available, which present them
with a limited set of choices. Whilst this
equally applies to adults there is no doubt
that children’s low power/low status posi-
tion in society can present them with a whole
different set of consumption limitations
compared to adults.
Scientific consumer socialization
Research in scientific consumer socializa-
tion has produced a plethora of studies on
issues such as children’s understanding of
advertising, the influence of parental com-
munication on consumer development;
shopping skills and product knowledge (see
John, 1999 for a review). Whilst such stud-
ies are of value, much scientific consumer
socialization research to date can be heav-
ily criticised on arange offronts. Firstly, be-
cause scientifíc consumer socialization
focuses on development it becomes future-
orientated in nature paying little attention
to children’s consumption worlds at pres-
ent (Archard, 1993). Secondly, whilst it is
acknowledged that children are a group that
may need special protection due to their low
power status in society, the emphasis has
been on children’s /7?abilities, /7/competen-
cies and ////maturity (Hill and Tisdall, 1997).
Thirdly, scientifíc consumer socialization
is based on theory which considers child de-
velopment to be predominantly innate - or
born with. In other words, children are the-
orized as standard or predictable beings
(Dittmar, 1992). Lastly, consumer develop-
ment is treated as a series of pre-determined
developmental stages children progress
through one after the other (John, 1999). The
net result of this tlieory is a fíxed linear
model which does not deal with differences
between children but assumes a universal
model applicable to all children in all places.
As a result writers from the scientifíc con-
sumer socialization perspective have con-
sistently failed to explore what consumption
means to (especially younger) children de-
spite the fact that social psychology has long
acknowledged the importance of posses-
sions to young children in their development
(Dittmar, 1992). It is evident that to address
these shortcomings and further understand-
ing of children’s cultures of consumption an-
other approach is required. One such
approach which stands in contrast to scien-
tifíc consumer socialization is that of child-
hood studies which we turn to now.
Childhood studies' and identity
The importance of childhood identities has
been addressed by numerous writers in the