Children as Commodities: Conflicting Discourses of Protection and Abuse of Children

Abstract

In modern society children are valued and nurtured, and it is often stated in media discourses across a variety of platforms and via the press and elsewhere, particularly by politicians, that “Children are our future”. Thus, they deserve the best education and a safe and secure environment in order to thrive and become a part of society. To this end, this study looks at how the media and its language construct children as a commodity in the economy who are used by media as a barometer for society and its commitment to decency and community. However, on closer inspection, a disturbing discourse of division emerges showing the community is split on how best to care and protect our children so that they may partake of that future. Children are used to promote viewpoints (or even ideologies) by celebrities who use their children as exemplars of their parenting style. In addition, children are used by media as a measure of whether a modern democracy is fair or decent in its application of law. From issues related to the pester power through which marketers use children to sell products to the lure of the internet, children are used to make money or seek access to it. Most modern legal frameworks actively support the maintenance of children within culture and kinship groups, yet thousands of children each year are deliberately separated from their parents who are encouraged by marketing ploys to send their children to other parts of the world for education or to seek a migration outcome. This study suggests that modern democratic societies are not consistent in their discourses which, on the one hand, seek to promote active support for the care and wellbeing of children and, on the other, continue a divisive discourse about appropriate responses. In this analysis and commentary, italics are used to give emphasis to keywords and phrases.