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RNZ News
16 hours ago
- RNZ News
Commodifying childhood: NZ children see marketing for unhealthy products 76 times a day
By By Leah Watkins and Louise Signal* of Photo: 123RF Analysis: Media headlines, industry figures and research confirm what many parents suspect: marketing to children has not only grown in scale but also in sophistication. It now happens in a wider variety of contexts, both physical and digital, and in a more systematic, integrated and personalised way than ever before. Children in Aotearoa New Zealand are growing up in a commercial environment unlike any previous generation. Advertising isn't just something they see between TV programmes. It's woven into their physical environment and the digital platforms they use to learn, play and socialise. Our new research showed just how pervasive this exposure is. We used data from the earlier Kids'Cam observational study, which tracked 90 New Zealand children's real-world experiences using wearable cameras that captured what they were looking at from waking up to going to sleep. On average, we found children encountered marketing for "unhealthy" products - junk food, alcohol and gambling, 76 times per day. That's almost two-and-a-half times more than their daily exposure to "healthy" marketing. Coca-Cola topped the list of most frequently encountered brands, appearing 6.3 times a day on average. The findings also show stark inequalities. Children from more socioeconomically deprived areas were exposed to significantly more unhealthy marketing for junk food. Advertising directed at children extends far beyond simply promoting products. It profoundly shapes their cognitive, social and behavioural development. Research has shown it can spark an immediate desire for products and contribute to conflict between children and parents. It can also influence the formation of broader consumption values and desires. Advertising exposure has been linked to increased materialism, by associating possessions with happiness and success. However, materialism is consistently associated with lower self-esteem, reduced wellbeing, and weaker social relationships because it shifts focus away from intrinsic sources of fulfilment such as personal growth and connection. Moreover, marketing plays a pivotal role in shaping children's beliefs, attitudes and social norms. There is evidence connecting advertising to the internalisation of gender and racial stereotypes and distorted body image. It has also been linked to the early use of harmful products such as tobacco and alcohol. Advertising has been found to affect dietary habits, with sustained exposure to food advertising significantly increasing the risk of childhood obesity. Children are uniquely vulnerable to the influence of advertising as they lack the critical reasoning skills to recognise and evaluate persuasive intent. In the online environment where advertising is embedded in games, influencer content and social feeds, children are especially vulnerable. Our study found a clear pattern. The less regulation there is, the higher the exposure. Tobacco marketing, which is tightly regulated, was rarely encountered by the children in our study. Alcohol and gambling - regulated by a patchwork of laws and voluntary codes - appeared moderately often. But junk food marketing, almost entirely self-regulated by industry, dominated what they saw. More than half of the unhealthy food and alcohol marketing children saw came from just 15 multinational companies. This highlights the systemic nature of the problem, as well as the resources behind it. These companies have the money to spend on marketing these harmful products to children. International agencies such as the United Nations have warned that exploitative marketing is a major global threat to children's health. To respond to this growing harm, governments need to: This is not just about protecting children's innocence. It's about protecting their health, autonomy and future opportunities. Left unchecked, the current commercial environment risks deepening health inequities and normalising harmful consumption patterns from an early age. Aotearoa New Zealand has the chance to lead efforts to create a digital and physical environment where commercial interests do not undermine children's rights and wellbeing. That requires moving beyond voluntary codes towards enforceable protections - grounded in evidence, public health priorities and equity. If we don't act now, we risk commodifying childhood itself. *Leah Watkins is an associate professor in Department of Marketing and Louise Signal is a professor in Health Promotion and Policy Research Unit at University of Otago. -This story was originally published on The Conversation.
RNZ News
19 hours ago
- RNZ News
The 'emotional gym' : growing your child's resilience muscle
In parenting today, how to raise resilient children who don't wilt at the first hurdle they face. Parenting coach and educational psychologist Kathryn Berkett says this doesn't mean being a "hands off" parent. Rather, it's about allowing kids to feel 'tolerable' stress. Kathryn Berkett likens it to lifting a weight at the gym, so that the resilience muscle gets stronger. She has a Masters in Educational Psychology and through her practice Engage Training , she teaches others about using neuroscience in everyday life. Photo:
RNZ News
21 hours ago
- RNZ News
Influenza symptom reports climb
Reports of fever and cough symptoms have climbed to their highest levels so far this year, but remain in line with previous years' figures. The FluTracking survey, run by PHF Science - formerly known as ESR - is an online self-reporting respiratory illness surveillance system. It asks participants to respond for themselves and household members across New Zealand, in an effort to capture how widespread flu-like symptoms may be. Since mid-July the proportion of survey participants has sharply increased from 0.8 percent to 2.1 percent. That suggests more than 100,000 New Zealanders are currently out there with fever and cough symptoms. Another winter illness tracking tool - the Healthline Influenza-like Illness activity dashboard reports calls to Healthline continue to increase, and that influenza B appears to be the prevalent virus currently circulating. Peter McIntrye is a Professor at Otago University and head of the Paediatrics and Child Health department in Dunedin. He has a specialist interest in disease and immunisation coverage registers, and vaccine preventable illnesses. Photo: 123rf
