Toolkit topic: Commercialism

e-Safety is not an issue solely about sex and predation. The internet is increasingly a medium for business wishing to attract customers. Young people can be pressurised by companies who at least hope to pass on a message that will encourage the user to visit their premises and make a purchase. On occasion they will also seek to encourage the user to make a purchase online.

Recent research suggests that two-thirds of the web-sites designed for children rely on advertising as their main source of income. Television advertising is ceasing to have the pulling power it once did as viewers are switching from watching television to using the internet. Place this in the context of the fact that young people spend some £4.2 billion annually and influence their parents to spend a further £30 billion!

A recent report entitled 'Fair Game?' published by the National Consumer Council clearly explains the issues about which we need to be concerned:

"The internet has become an integral part of UK family life, welcomed by parents and children alike. The majority of the country's 7-16 year-olds are established internet users and almost all families have a computer at home.

The internet is also a commercial environment. As young Britons migrate online from other forms of entertainment, so the marketing industry develops sophisticated and innovative techniques to chase their, and their parents', spending power. The majority of sites designed for or popular with children rely on advertising as their source of primary revenue. The borderless nature of the internet means that rules and regulations that exist are more diffuse and difficult to enforce, while exposure to advertising online can be prolonged, interactive, engaging and exciting.

This highlights the need to examine the nature of this commercialism further. Online marketing activities must be examined to establish what the implications might be for children. In this report we have investigated the practices of online advertising, purchasing and data collection using a sample of 40 websites popular with children. We conducted in-depth group discussions and solicited the views of children and their parents on the subject of online commercialism.

Our findings give us cause for concern. We found examples where:

Data protection rules and marketing codes of practice are flouted;
Hidden persuasion techniques are employed, in the form of advertisements and commercial messages that cannot be easily identified by children;
Products and services that have a legal age limit are advertised, such as gambling and dating;
Children get caught out by rip-offs and 'free offers' online;
Age rules governed by different jurisdictions confuse children and parents."

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If you need to learn more about the commercial activities on children's websites and online environments you can read the full report at www.ncc.org.uk

Last Modified: 02/08/2010 13:26:29
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