The preschool children’s media consumption impact on consumer behaviour

Abstract

AIMS OF THE PAPER
Today, electronic media plays an increasingly important role, from which children cannot be excluded. Children are perceived as demanding, considerate, critical consumers, who greatly influence their parents' purchasing decisions. The purpose of this paper is to explore what kind of television consumption habits children have in their early years and how it can influence their brand awareness and enhance their demand as consumers.

METHODOLOGY
The qualitative research of twenty preschool children, from the age of 4-6, reports of the children’s general television consumption and purchasing behaviour. During the conversations, the children had to recognize thirteen different logos.

MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS
The research results clearly reflect that increased television consumption strongly affects children’s consumer behaviour, as the knowledge of logos and brands was much higher amongst those children, who viewed television on a daily basis. These children demanded more branded products and felt a greater need to consume than those children who rarely or never watched television. Unfortunately, this research also showed that most children are exposed to a harmful amount of media daily.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Taking the results into consideration, it would be crucial to apply this knowledge in practice. Although the majority of parents are aware that excessive television consumption is inappropriate for their children, they are often unaware to what extent the media influence damages the children. That is why, it would be very important to educate parents with various auxiliary programs and encourage them to rational television and media consumption, as we could see that excessive television can affect consumer behaviour as well as brand awareness among children.