Material girls? : consumer culture in the everyday life of primary school children in Malta

Abstract

This research explores the relationship between consumerism as a culture in itself and children as a social group within society, without assuming that they are in any way less able or inferior to adults. This research was done through participant observation and also interviews with the children and also the adults responsible for them; parents and teachers. Child-centred methods were used to carry out this research in order to be able to collect more reliable and valid data.

A qualitative research design was used; an ethnographic research design was used with participant observation in a girl’s primary school together with individual interviews with the children and the adults responsible for them.

Thematic analysis was applied to the interview data and the themes identified were: Social Status and Consumerism, Identity and Consumerism and Media.

The key finding is that children are influenced by consumerism and its promoters such as advertising agencies and marketing companies. The children use consumable materials to measure their relative social status among their peers and to gain a sense of belonging. The children also use material objects to express their identities. The media is very popular among children and this is what makes children so influenced by it.