Children these days are constantly trying to get the next best thing, or act the way "popular" people would behave. In the article “Commodifying Kids: The Forgotten Crisis,” Giroux talks about the effects the media market is having on today's children. The media is “brainwashing” children into buying their products and catching them while they are young. Today's children measure their worth by the things they own or how they behave, which is largely due to the media market. While I agree with Giroux about how the media market is responsible for the strong influence of children, I also think that parents should share some of the blame for giving in to their children's desires and buying and encouraging them to get the best products. The media greatly influences our society today. They control clothing and style trends and influence how we act. The people it affects most are children. Giroux comments “Children today live in a cultural landscape in which they can only recognize themselves in terms preferred by the market” (Giroux A136). Today's kids think they have to give in to the market to survive. One of the reasons for this mentality is due to media companies targeting young children. Companies are making strong marketing pushes toward children who are susceptible to persuasion. They are encouraging kids to buy the new iPhone or the new action figure. While it's not just products, children are also influenced to act a certain way. TV and movie stars teach children how to behave based on the characters they play in movies and TV shows, which is often not the right way a child should act. Artists and other celebrities strongly influence clothing trends, and ... middle of paper ... children conform to the ways of media icons, so kids will be less likely to act that way. Parents play a critical role in loosening the hold that the media market has on young children. Not only is the media guilty of influencing today's children, but parents are also guilty of encouraging the media market. The market has a strong hold on children and continuously influences them in many aspects of their lives. Parents need to encourage their children not to conform to what the media says. Children don't need the newest items or trendiest clothes to be successful. Parents need to slow down in spoiling their children and make them focus less on material things. Overall, we need to crack down on the addictive media market and encourage today's children to be true to themselves and not rely too much on the media-driven society.