A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Ooshies, the plastic collectible toys Australian supermarket chain Woolworths is using to lure shoppers to its aisles, aren’t just a bit of fun. They’ve been connected to a black market among Woolworths staff, frenzied online trading replete with death threats, chaotic crowds and and feral behaviour at supermarket swap days, and a shocking decapitation live [...]
It’s easier than ever to buy things online. It’s so easy that Ryan Cassata sometimes does it in his sleep. Cassata, a 24-year-old singer-songwriter and actor from Los Angeles, recently got a notification from Amazon that a package had been shipped to his apartment, but he didn’t remember buying anything. When he logged onto his [...]
Flickr Images Consumerism is in the air this time of year. There may be no better evidence of our consumerist habits than the barrage of goods currently advertised on-line, in newspaper supplements, and, of course, in store windows. But there has been some recent pushback on this front. Last year, the outdoor retailer [...]
Pixabay Images Cool is a target that’s constantly shifting. It’s an attitude, a term of approval, and today, as much as any of these things, it’s a game of superficially rebellious status-chasing, centered on consumerism. Cool turns out to be a strange kind of economic value that our brains see in products that [...]
There’s a growing realisation that consumerism and the ability to acquire more and more stuff such as toys, clothes and digital devices might not be doing our kids many favours. Research from around the world suggests the rampant materialism which affects much of the West could be to blame for a generational malaise of low [...]
The film packs a powerful punch for insights into youth culture and media/marketing’s implicit role in the need to create healthier messaging and a brighter worldview for kids. We MUST use the power of media for positive change…for with power comes profound responsibility. This has been serialised on youtube see also Shaping Youth » Start the [...]
Today children learn to recognise brands from a very early age. They are trained to become ‘brand loyal’ from the images that surround them everywhere. From the Dora characters they see on their nappies to the Thomas the tank engine drink bottles they put in their Wiggles school bag. Jason Clarke, founder of Minds at Work says “it starts [...]
