FOOD AND BEVERAGE COMPANIES MARKET TO TEENS-DANGER IN ACCESSIBILITY?

The explosion of digital marketing in recent years has dramitcally changed the way in which we market and the rules companies use.  Marketing, in particiular, to chidlren and teenagers at at the forefront of the digital frontier. Our kids are not just watching commercials on TV anymore, they are interacting with brands and their products throughout the day, online and with friends.  Marketers, like never before, are cradefully tracking teens online movements and conversations on Facebook and Twitter.  They are collecting data to target consumers and specilize their marketing.
Why is this open, unfiltrerd acces a concern for parents?  This is because young people's choices, especialyl when it comes to food choices, is mainly shaped by the marketing of these food and beverages. But kids are impulsive and make decisions that may be harmful for their health because they are not as informed and care less about the consequences.

Food and beverage marketing in America on the digital platform allows unhealthy providers to bombard teens with marketing techniques that entice them and persuade them to eat more than their unhealthy share of foods and snacks.

Teens are being targeted at a time in their life where they are easily infleunced.  In other words, they are at a point in their lives when their biological urges are particualary intense, and they have not yet acured the abiltiy to control these urges.  Companies are usiing a variety of marketing techniques to entice the young consumer, including: creating immersive environements, infiltraing social networks, location-based and mobile marketing, collecting personal date, and studying and triggering the subconscious.

For more reading: http://www.bmsg.org/resources/publications/the-new-age-of-food-marketing