Digital Marketing and Children’s Rights: Trick or Treat?

Authors

  • Nataša Krstić
  • Danica Čigoja Piper

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i23.402

Keywords:

online advertising, social media, data privacy, children, Serbia

Abstract

Marketing in the digital age is driven by software and algorithms, and is characterized by sociability, networking and personalization, which make children profitable targets for the advertising industry. Relying on a survey on UNICEF's U-Report platform registering children and youth, we wanted to examine whether young internet users in Serbia are aware that their personal data are revealed for advertising purposes and if they understand the digital marketing techniques that they are exposed to. Given that more than half of the survey respondents opened their accounts on social media before the age limit, that most of them share their personal information online and are largely indifferent to cookies on the websites they visit, it does not come as a surprise that young internet users in Serbia become an active target of advertising, which is often unwanted or inappropriate for their age. Bearing in mind the multidisciplinary nature of the topic, the recommendations for a variety of stakeholders, from publishers to creative industries and parents are given in the concluding remarks.

 

Article received: April 30, 2020; Article accepted: May 30, 2020; Published online: October 15, 2020; Original scholarly paper

 

Author Biographies

Nataša Krstić

Nataša Krstić (1972) is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Media and Communications, Singidunum University, and Head of the Digital Marketing curriculum. She graduated and received her master's degree from the Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade, and obtained her Ph.D. in Management Sciences in 2014 at Singidunum University. In 2015, she received the “Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing” awarded by the renowned UK Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing (IDM). In 2016, she also specialized in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) at the University of California, Davis. Nataša is the author of the textbooks “Digital Marketing: A Glossary” and “SEO: from Theory to Practice” published by the FMK Books (FMK knjige). Her areas of research are digital marketing, digital media and corporate social responsibility.

Danica Čigoja Piper

Danica Čigoja Piper (1988) is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Media and Communications, Singidunum University. She has developed her research in media studies, with special emphasis on critical analysis of media content. She has published extensively and served as a junior researcher in two international academic projects (RRPP and IMPULSE). She is an accredited educator for teacher trainings in high schools approved by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia.

References

Boyd, Danah, Eszter Hargittai, Jason Schultz, and John Palfrey. “Why Parents Help Their Children Lie to Facebook about Age: Unintended Consequences of the ‘Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.” First Monday 16, 11 (2011). doi: 10.5210/fm.v16i11.3850. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v16i11.3850

Cain Reid, Rita-Marie. “Embedded Advertising to Children: A Tactic that Requires a New Regulatory Approach.” American Business Law Journal 51, 4 (2014): 721–77. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ablj.12038

European Commission. Can personal data about children be collected? Brussels, 2019. https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/reform/rights-citizens/how-my-personal-data-protected/can-personal-data-about-children-be-collected_en. Accessed on February 11, 2020.

European Commission. 2018 Reform of EU Data Protection Rules. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/justice-and-fundamental-rights/data-protection/2018-reform-eu-data-protection-rules_en. Accessed on February 20, 2020.

Federal Trade Commission USA. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA), Washington, D.C., www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule. Accessed on February 20, 2020.

GDPR.EU. Cookies, the GDPR, and the ePrivacy Directive. https://gdpr.eu/cookies/?cn-reloaded=1. Accessed on February 13, 2020.

Google Ads Help. About remarketing. https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2453998?hl=en. Accessed on February 11, 2020.

Google Advertising Policy Help. Personalized advertising. https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/143465?hl=en. Accessed on February 11, 2020.

Heawood, Jonathan. “Pseudo-Public Political Speech: Democratic Implications of the Cambridge Analytica Scandal.” Information Polity: The International Journal of Government & Democracy in the Information Age 23, 4 (2018): 429–34. doi: 10.3233/IP-180009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-180009

Kennedy, A. K. Jones, and J. Williams. “Children as Vulnerable Consumers in Online Environments.” The Journal of Consumer Affairs 53, 4 (2019): 1478–506. doi: 10.1111/joca.12253. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12253

Lwin, May O., Antony Miyazaki, Adrea J. S. Stanaland, and Evonne Lee. “Online Usage Motive and Information Disclosure for Preteen Children.” Young Consumers 13, 4 (2020): 345–56. doi: 10.1108/17473611211282590. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/17473611211282590

Meyer, Marisa, Victoria Adkins, Nalingna Yuan, Heidi M Weeks, Yung-Ju Chang, and Jenny Radesky. “Advertising in Young Children’s Apps: A Content Analysis.” Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics 40, 1 (2019): 32–29. doi: 10.1097/DBP.0000000000000622 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000000622

Ministarstvo za rad, zapošljavanje, boračka i socijalna pitanja Republike Srbije, Nacrt Zakona o pravima deteta i zaštitniku prava deteta. https://www.minrzs.gov.rs/sr/konkursi/nacrt-zakona-o-pravima-deteta-i-zastitniku-prava-deteta-javni-poziv-za-javnu-raspravu. Accessed on February 8, 2020.

Ministarstvo omladine i sporta Republike Srbije, Nacionalna strategija za mlade za period od 2015. do 2025. godine. https://www.mos.gov.rs/mladisuzakon/attachments/article/389/nacionalna_strategija_za_mlade0101_cyr.pdf. Accessed on February 7, 2020.

Naumovska, Ljupka and Angela Milenkovska. “Marketing to Children: The Impact of Digital Media.” Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 7, 5 (2017): 276–83. DOI: https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v7-i5/2930

Nyst, Carly, ed. Privacy, protection of personal information and reputation rights. Discussion Paper Series: Children’s Rights and Business in a Digital World, (UNICEF, 2019). https://www.unicef.org/csr/css/Children_and_Digital_Marketing_Rights_Risks_and_Responsibilities.pd. Accessed on March 25, 2020.

Nyst, Carly, ed. Children and Digital Marketing: Rights, risks and opportunities, UNICEF, (2018). https://www.unicef.org/csr/files/Children_and_Digital_Marketing_-_Rights_Risks_and_Opportunities(1).pdf. Accessed on March 29, 2020.

Oates, Caroline, Leah Watkins, and Maree Thyne. “The impact of marketing on children’s well-being in a digital age.” European Journal of Marketing 50, 11 (2016): 1969–74. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-10-2016-0543

Ofcom, Children and Parents: Media use and attitudes report. London, November 2017. www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/media-literacyresearch/children/children-parents-nov16. Accessed on February 1, 2020.

O’Neill, Bryan. “Who cares? Practical ethics and the problem of underage users on social networking sites.” Ethics and Information Technology 15, 4 (2013): 253–62. doi:10.1007/s10676-013-9331-4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-013-9331-4

Pew Research Center Internet & Technology. Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/. Accessed on February 12, 2020.

Poverenik za informacije od javnog značaja i zaštitu podataka o ličnosti, Zakon o zaštiti podataka o ličnosti. Beograd: Službeni glasnik RS, br. 87/2018, Član 16, 21, 59.

PrivacyPolicies.com. Minors and Your Privacy Policy. https://www.privacypolicies.com/blog/minors-privacy-policy. Accessed on February 11, 2020.

PWC & Super Awesome. Kids digital media report. UK: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 2019.

Royal Society for Public Health. #StatusOfMind. Social media and young people's mental health and wellbeing, 2017. https://www.rsph.org.uk/uploads/assets/uploaded/d125b27c-0b62-41c5-a2c0155a8887cd01.pdf. Accessed on February 12, 2020.

Scholz, Christian and Rennig Anne. Generation Z in Europe: Inputs, Insights and Implications, UK: Emerald Publishing, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/9781789734911

Statcounter, Social Media Stats Serbia Jan 2019 – Jan 2020. https://gs.statcounter.com/social-media-stats/all/serbia. Accessed on February 12, 2020.

Turow, Joseph and Nir, Lilach, “The Internet and the Family 2000: The View from Parents, the View from Kids” From Report Series, The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania (2010). https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/bcf3/960fa5c934771a64fe6ddf614b8c81ede086.pdf. Accessed on February 13, 2020.

UK House of Lords Growing up with the Internet, Communications Committee report, 2017.

van der Hof, Simone, Valerie Verdoot, and Mark Leiser. “Child labour and online protection in a world of influencers.” September 2019. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3458379. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.3458379. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3458379

Vranješević, Jelena. “Deca kao (ko)istraživači: participativna istraživanja i najbolji interes deteta.” Primenjena Psihologija 8, 2 (2015): 187–202. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19090/pp.2015.2.187-202

Wojdynski, Bartosz, W. and Golan J. Guy. “Native Advertising and the Future of Mass Communication.” American Behavioral Scientist 60, 12 (2016): 1403–07. doi: 10.1177/0002764216660134. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764216660134

WHO. Tackling food marketing to children in a digital world: trans-disciplinary perspectives, http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/322226/Tackling-food-marketing-children-digital-world-trans-disciplinary-perspectives-en.pdf. Accessed on March 29, 2020.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i23.402 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i23.402

Downloads

Published

15.10.2020

How to Cite

Krstić, N., & Čigoja Piper, D. (2020). Digital Marketing and Children’s Rights: Trick or Treat?. AM Journal of Art and Media Studies, (23), 135–148. https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i23.402