Consumer Socialization in a Wired World: The Effects of Internet Use and Parental Communication on the Development of Skepticism to Advertising

Abstract

A reasonable degree of consumer prudence is needed to function in today’s commercially-oriented society such that skepticism is considered a positive and important outcome of the consumer socialization process particularly in adolescents.This study identifies the characteristics associated with skeptical adolescents and links these to various environmental factors focusing in particular on Internet use and the type and intensity of parenting communication adopted in the adolescent’s household. In doing so we monitor the role of the Internet in the consumer socialization process and are thereby able to update previous studies based on a more limited range of media. The empirical results suggestthat the Internet hampers the development of skepticism to advertising unless it is used in the context oftelewebbing (simultaneous Internet and television use). We also find as parental communication moves toward a concept-oriented approach, the development of skepticism to advertising increases