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

Nataša Krstić; Danica Čigoja Piper

doi:10.25038/am.v0i23.402

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.

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