Know the enemy

Among today's press releases in my email was one calling my attention to a company whose specialty is knowing and manipulating the tween market. The publicist for AK Tweens probably hasn't read many of my columns or blog posts, and she definitely didn't read chapter three of my book, or else she'd have known that any publicity her client would get from me probably is not going to be good.

AK Tweens, in addition to being “the nation’s leading tween research and consulting firm,” also owns AllyKatzz, a social networking site for girls aged 8 to 12 that claims more than 75,000 members. While the sites brags of compliance with COPPA (the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act), this is little assurance to parents like me. (Um… gee… a pedophile wouldn’t think to roam around on a site that attracts tens of thousands of young girls – they’re COPPA compliant!)

I have a problem with both AllyKatzz and the company that owns the site.  Despite their growing popularity and the trend they represent, social networking sites are not for kids. Children need to develop real social skills by interacting with their living, breathing friends. If they’re going to chat about “hot” celebrities, fashion fads and their favorite flavors of lip gloss, better to do so with real friends, not virtual ones. Girls – especially those who may be struggling socially – run the risk of isolating themselves in cyberspace rather than learning to interact in their own communities.

On a larger scale, while I realize research and consulting firms are a fact of life, I’m really chaffed at the idea of a firm devoted to manipulating the desires and behavior of young girls. Denise Restauri, founder of AK Tweens, boasts she “has deep and expansive knowledge and understanding of what makes tween girls tick -- everything from the secrets they keep from mom and dad, to what products they are and aren’t buying, and everything in between and she is able to translate their ‘chatter’ into meaningful research data.”

Great. Just what we need.

Our media saturated culture has caused young girls to be obsessed with materialism, celebrity and fame, unrealistic body images, premature sexuality and superficial popularity. They are victims of a marketing machine that exploits their innocence in search of the dollars to which they have access – a staggering $51 billion annually, plus the “sway” they exert over another $170 billion spent by their families. (Got those numbers from the press release.)

Marketing gurus aren’t interested in what makes girls “tick” except as a way to figure out what makes them spend. No one cares if we corrupt their values in the process. Parents are up against a massive current of cultural influence as we try to raise kids who are wholesome and innocent and who adopt a strong set of values and a moral compass. Today’s press release is just more proof that it’s us against them.

(By the way, I usually include links in my posts for your convenience, but I just didn’t feel like driving traffic to these sites. If you’re curious, you’ll have to google.)