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Homo Sapiens Teenager Consumerensis
For the last few decades we have been conducting an interesting social experiment in North America. We have been working on the creation of a new variety of human being I will call homo sapiens teenager consumerensis. This being has been cultivated by our society and the process began in earnest with the growth of commercial television in the late 1950s. It carries on to the present ever stronger and more effectively. Teenagers were trained to have special needs ... special foods, beverages, clothing, music, films, etc. They are divided into market targets and the markets are changed seasonally in order to sell new products. Once this enterprise was really rolling the eight year olds were persuaded that they were teenagers already and then the twenty-five year olds were convinced that they were still teenagers. This experiment is hurtling on apace using some of the most creative minds in our society and every modern technological and psychological tool, sparing no expense. Often sex, violence and greed are exploited to help sell products including TV shows and films.
For the first time in the history of our species the most vital, active years of a person's growing life are dedicated to one major goal - self indulgence. From a business point of view it has and continues to be an overwhelming success. At the same time automation, downsizing and shipping jobs overseas has taken meaningful work away from young people. Except for so-called McJobs, business and labour can find nothing important for young people to do ... except to buy. Is it any wonder some of them turn to anti-social activities such as drug dealing and violence.The key to this state of affairs is commercial television. It is not so much public television. It is probably no coincidence that other continents which do not have such advanced commercial television do not have such advanced teenage problems. If one could do a global map of drug abuse, teen violence and other such problems it would likely be the same map as homo sapiens teenager consumerensis. I predict that any countries that follow in North America's footsteps from a commercial TV point of view will develop the same problems. It is part of the package.
I have been told that the average North American child will have spent more hours watching television by the age of four than they will spend talking to their parents for the rest of their lives. Well, why would this special species talk to its parents? It has been finely crafted into a market target which doesn't relate to other age groups.
North American teenagers, on average, (and by the way, this does not apply to every individual young person, of course) spend about the same amount of time watching television as they spend in school. We now have a generation of parents whose idea of family values were conditioned by Saturday morning cartoons. Both school and TV are educational but in different ways. Which is more effective at forming attitudes?
There are three categories of commercial TV which are the most popular. First, the abject worship of consumer products, especially shown in game shows but subliminally even in the sitcoms. Second, the celebration of sex without love as seen in rock videos (Madonna is a good example) and many commercials. Is there any connection between this and teen pregnancy and the speed of sexually transmitted diseases? The third is a category very popular with boys and that is "blow away your troubles with bullets". Rambo and Schwarzenegger films are good examples and the connection to crime and violence among youths is obvious. In our system the worst human vices are encouraged for the sake of profits. I suggest that for all the problems they create, these profits come at great expense.
What surprises me is why so many people lament the sorry situation of certain elements of our youth and no-one discusses the real reasons for the problems. How can Nancy Reagan say "Just say NO to drugs!" when everything else in society says YES to self-indulgence. In order to fix a stalled car or an aching tooth I thought that the best idea was to find the reason for the problem and address that reason. I don't know how to start changing the thrust of several decades of homo sapiens teenager consumerensis but I do know we have to face the real reasons for youth problems and begin a dialogue on what to do about them. The future of our civilization is at stake.
Robert Bateman
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