domingo, janeiro 09, 2005: Pre-teens 'addicted to shopping'? Don't buy it.

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Few pleasures remain that cannot be turned into a scare story. In late November 2004 many UK media outlets (including the Daily Mirror, Sun, Independent and Sky News) ran worrying stories about how children as young as 10 were addicted to shopping, and claimed that most 10-year-olds had been 'primed to become a new generation of "shopaholics"'.

This wasn't a case of the media misreporting serious research - the news stories that both the Independent and Sky News ran were almost exact reprints of a press release from the National Consumer Council (NCC). So how exactly did the NCC - an independent organisation indirectly funded by the taxpayer - discover these facts?

It carried out a survey, which revealed that 'almost eight in 10 10- to 12-year-olds [that's 78 per cent] already say they enjoy shopping' (1). The Independent changed this to 'have already developed a passion for conspicuous consumption', just in case 'shopping' didn't sound shallow enough. And according to the NCC, teenagers are all but completely corrupted: 'The trend continues throughout their teenage years - especially among young women. An overwhelming 94 per cent of girls aged 10 to 19 admitted their passion for shopping.'

Well, who would have thought it? Most girls enjoy shopping! Personally, I thought girls liked reconstructing old cars and collecting war memorabilia. Good thing we have the NCC to tell us otherwise.
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spiked-risk - Tall mall tales



The National Consumer Council


The National Consumer Council - Teen shoppers fear ‘rip-off’ sales

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