Top ways banks can appeal to younger generations

Banks need to look at how they can make financial services interesting and educational to win over the younger generation, says Cyndy Hawkins.

A new book edited by Cyndy Hawkins, senior lecturer of Childhood Studies at Nottingham Trent University, raises some interesting points about how consumerism is impacting children and their perception of financial services. We speak with the Rethinking Children as Consumers editor to get her thoughts on how banks can help to educate the younger generation and improve the way they engage with them.

For those that haven't yet read ‘Rethinking Children as Consumers’, can you please provide a brief overview of what it is about?

The book is about rethinking the idea of children as consumers across a much broader spectrum of understandings. For example, traditionally children and young people have been depicted as consumers in a purely commercial sense, in this book we talk about children and young people as significant consumers of services such a health and social care, education and the environment, and explore the links between their rights as citizens in relation to their consumption practices and experiences.

In a nutshell, how is consumerism impacting children today?
 
Due to the marketization of childhood, where children are constantly being bombarded by advertising through billboards, TV and the internet, it is affecting their identity, well-being and self- esteem where they strive to become an ‘ideal type’ in line with media messages conveyed to them and to align with their peers.