In a world where we increasingly see marketing in every nook and cranny, it is not surprising that there are advertisements targeted to children. However, what is surprising is the extent and reach of that marketing. For example, current statistics show us that children see more than 40,000 commercials on television, contributing to a $15 billion dollar industry. Susan Linn, child psychotherapist and author, is leading the pack in reducing the harmful effects of exploitative marketing on children.
Join Susan at the Jamaica Plain Forum as she reveals the impact that over-marketing has on the development and creativity of our children. By interweaving real-life stories of marketing to children, child development theory, the latest research, and what marketing experts themselves say about their work, Susan reveals the magnitude of this problem and shows what can be done about it.
Our Speakers
Susan Linn is Associate Director of the Media Center at the Judge Baker Children’s Center and an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She has written extensively about the effects of media and commercial marketing on children. Her articles have appeared in the Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, the Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. Her commentaries can be heard on NPR’s Marketplace.
Dr. Linn is a co-founder of the national coalition Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. In 2000 she was appointed to the American Psychological Association’s Task Force on Advertising to Children. She has been featured on Sixty Minutes, Now with Bill Moyers, World News Tonight, Dateline, and in the acclaimed film, The Corporation. In 2006 she received the American Psychological Association’s Presidential Citation for her work on behalf of children.
Dr. Linn is the author of the books “Consuming Kids: Protecting Our Children From the Onslaught of Advertising and Marketingâ€. Her newest book, “The Case for Make Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World†is due out in April, 2008 from New Press.
Many thanks to the co-sponsors for this event
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