Family groups and various other meddlers are horrified by the advent of Samsung’s Tobi phone, a mobile with reduced functionality that is marketed specifically at the pre-teen market (or parents thereof). What seems to be the real rub for these worrywarts is that Samsung has chosen to manufacture the Tobi in “sweet pink” and “loyal blue”.
Rather than showing concern for the precipitation of unhelpful gender stereotypes this stringent adherence to the pink/blue divide causes (the responsibility for this rests, however, squarely on the shoulders of consumers who are happy to keep their pretty-princess-daughter and here-comes-trouble-son labelled for future reference) those-who-would-protect-children are perturbed by the disgusting CONSUMERISM generated by such “branded goods”.
Excuse me? Have these simple folk any concept of what branded goods actually are? In the grand branding scheme, things simply being a colour is trumped at every turn by Iggle Piggle egg cups and Peppa Pig push up bras. I suspect the real problem here is that a mobile phone is technology, and that, of course, is the real work of The Devil.
What really irritates me (even more than super-concerned Sue Palmer, author of Detoxing Childhood – but I’ll get to her) is this we-wise-adults-know-best belief that children would somehow benefit from a golden age of innocent childhood if only we could prevent them from experiencing adverts, refined sugar products, the internet and singing plastic toys from China. The fact of the matter is, these things exist. Would you rather:
a) Empower your children to negotiate these aspects of 21st century existence skillfully whilst ensuring they were able to pursue their own interests and passions unhampered by unnecessary interference and distraction, or
b) Watch your sheltered child became a retarded adult who believed everything they saw on the television; had an unhealthy obsession with Haribo Starmix that turned into tooth-rotting bulimia nervosa; was unable to get a job because they didn’t understand what boundless access to information and web-based collaboration was; and believed that things could only be made out of sustainable wood and metal bells?
And finally, Sue Palmer. She sells her book, which provides advice to parents on how to steer children through the problems of growing up. And from that, I deduce that she is taking full advantage of the filthy phenomenon that is consumerism. Sue – just think of all of those desperate parents, willing to pay, just waiting to be told what to do and how to do it properly - by a real expert. If not several.
Anyway, Sue has this to say: “We have a huge amount of child protection legislation which is protecting their bodies, but nobody is thinking about their minds.”
Well, thanks for that Sue – but actually it’s pretty much ALL I think about. And that’s why I think that legislation to protect children’s minds is a pretty fucking stupid idea. In fact, it would probably amount to mass mind control. But, please, go on:
“They’re being brainwashed and leeched on to think that the most important thing in the world is consumption, and their parents are now being brought into the act.”
Yes, by you, Sue. You giant, product-selling ignoramus.
