This makes a lot of sense as a way to get kids to eat healthier. I've always thought advertising to kids should be severely restricted if not just plain outlawed...it's basically manipulating a vulnerable mind at a time when potentially life-long habits are being formed.
By opening teens' eyes to marketing tricks, the researchers reframed healthy eating as a rebellious act, tapping into teens' natural desires to assert their autonomy. What really angered the teens was learning that unscrupulous food marketers sell unhealthy food to low-income communities and to children, but often don't eat it themselves.
"It's hypocrisy, which connects to both social justice and rebellion, and makes kids feel fired up and motivated to fight back," says Bryan. "Teens have a heightened concern for fairness and justice. It's the time in life when kids become vegetarians for moral reasons or become anti-globalization activists. They have a sense of themselves as agents in the world who can make a difference, and they want to make the world a better place."
By opening teens' eyes to marketing tricks, the researchers reframed healthy eating as a rebellious act, tapping into teens' natural desires to assert their autonomy. What really angered the teens was learning that unscrupulous food marketers sell unhealthy food to low-income communities and to children, but often don't eat it themselves.
"It's hypocrisy, which connects to both social justice and rebellion, and makes kids feel fired up and motivated to fight back," says Bryan. "Teens have a heightened concern for fairness and justice. It's the time in life when kids become vegetarians for moral reasons or become anti-globalization activists. They have a sense of themselves as agents in the world who can make a difference, and they want to make the world a better place."
