The consequences and contradictions of child and teen consumption in contemporary practice

Valérie-Inès de La Ville (1, 2)

1 CEREGE [Poitiers] - Centre de recherche en gestion [EA 1722]
2 MSHS de Poitiers - Maison des sciences de l'homme et de la société de Poitiers

This paper seeks to conceptualize the field of child and teen consumption as a system of social practices at the cross roads of six strongly intermingled subsystems covering social, institutional, technological, narrative, economic, and political stakes. Children's and teens' consumption is shaped and transformed by a mix of managerial action, public policy, cycles of technological change, the evolution of related institutions like parenthood and schooling, changing cultural references, values, modes of socialization as well as by the actions of children and teens themselves. Within such a framework, child and teen consumption appears as a complex arena of competing moral and ideological perspectives. In such a volatile context, forms of resistance to ideologies of unending consumption emerge, continuously calling into question the responsibility of business for unwanted long‐term effects.

Mots clés: Children (age groups); Youth; Consumption; Stakeholder analysis; Social responsibility

Mots clés: Enfant consommateur; Consommation; Parties prenantes; Marketing; Responsabilité sociétale de l'entreprise

Domaines: Gestion et management

Valérie-Inès de La Ville. The consequences and contradictions of child and teen consumption in contemporary practice. Society and Business Review, 2007, Special Issue: Child and teen consumption, 2 (1), pp.7-14. ⟨10.1108/17465680710725245⟩. ⟨hal-01845103⟩