Marketing – A Major Menace to Society

Abstract

Today we live in a World in which market triumphalism is seemingly the only game in society. Recent Years have seen a boom in the Marketing Industry. Since the 1980`s an increasing number of advertising, marketing and consulting agencies have emerged, providing psychological and anthropological insight into the behaviour and attitudes of children and adolescents. Marketers are thus exerting greater and greater influence over what children and adolescents eat (increasing amount of fast foods and sugar filled beverages), how they dress (with little regard for what is age – appropriate), and how they behave (increasingly restless and aggressive). They are being trained in these attitudes and behaviors by multibillion-dollar industry. They target the vulnerable consumer group with a steady stream of messages that emphasis selfindulgence, instant gratification and materialism. These attitudes are antithetical to what parents seek to teach their children and also antithetical to the att...