A Child’s Take on His Culture

Money, the media, and my son

Brit A.
Brit A.
Sep 2, 2018 · 4 min read

As I watch my son grow up with this iTech, I take the future of the planet very seriously —

Because I am raising the future.

I teach my son. I pray with my son. And I learn from my son.

As the summer ends so begins his Kindergarten year, so I want to share two lessons he has taught me this summer about his culture.

Lesson 1: He knows money equals survival.

Image from Desygner App

Matter of fact, just the other day he told me that he didn’t want to make money when he grows older. Instead, he wanted to stay home because “working is too hard.”

The worst part of this was that in the very same breath, I was dropping him off at a day camp so I could go to work.

I felt two feet tall.

$$$

No wonder he doesn’t want to make money when he gets older. He doesn’t want the stress. I don’t blame him.

Obviously, I blame myself.

It’s true that a lack of money is a prevalent conversation in our lives, but it is also true that I don’t have any to waste. But I have been catching myself lately after he said that…

It’s just hard not to talk about money when you’re broke.

Lesson 2: He knows the media makes you want stuff.

Images from Desygner App

In my son’s five years on Earth, he knows what commercials and ads do:

To make you want things.

To solve a problem.

To create a need.

In the simplest form, advertising implies to him that his life could be better with just one more product.

Before I continue, please know that my kid is just like any other kid. What makes his experience different is that I ask him questions when he begs me to get him the latest and greatest toys:

So, now back to the point.

One evening my son and I came home to an ad on the television for Neck Baskets.

Clearly satirical yet clever to the adult eye, the ridiculousness of the ad was a good attention-getter to keep the consumer engaged before redirecting him or her to the actual purpose of the commercial (an online survey gig).

However, my son doesn’t know that difference; he just knows commercials and what they are supposed to do.

And when he excitedly asked me if I wanted the completely ridiculous and faux product, I didn’t know what to do.

As he mimicked the hand gestures and smiles of the actors and actresses with the baskets around their necks, he himself tried to persuade me about the relevance of the product.

“See, you put it around your neck and put things in it… do you want it?”

I was absolutely floored.

Like I said, I usually explain things to him, but this time, I didn’t.

This time I couldn’t.

All I could say was no, and all I could do was go to the kitchen table with my head in my hands.

I at least knew what my next article would be.

Childhood issues

Not only is my son the most i-Tech conscious child that I know, but he absorbs more facets of his culture than I could have ever dreamed.

I am so proud of him, but I can’t help but feel a little helpless. There is no saving him from the extremely proprietary iTech and media culture that bombards us everyday. Likewise, there is no shielding him of the need for money and alllllllll that comes with it.

But even though I feel helpless, I am not without hope that my efforts will pay off.

My Son and I on his 5th birthday party.

I really don’t know where I’m going with this, except that my little boy is a reflection of what I have shown him through my conscious awareness of our culture.

I am extremely cynical about it, so that means I need to take a look at myself too.

Do I really need to talk about the scarcity of my money? Or about how advertising rots and ruins our TV time (when we actually watch it)?

No.

But I will continue to explain to him what’s going on because our culture is our culture. The only thing we can change about it is how we think about it.

I believe he already gets it though.

For now, I will continue to teach my son the way that I am — with awareness and complete transparency in mind.

That’s the least I can do .

Making a difference one article, one lesson, one talk to my child at a time.

And if you found me and this article, you are already making a difference too.

Brit A.

Written by

Brit A.

Just a Christ-following yogi trying to make sense of an Eastern philosophy in a western 🌎 Write, create, meditate - repeat.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade