Mayumi Takahashi Young Children and Consumer Media Cultures in Japan Mothering, Peer Relationships, Social Identities and Consumption Practices Thesis for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor Trondheim, June 2015 Norwegian University of Science and Technology Faculty of Social Sciences and Technology Management Norwegian Centre for Child Research (NOSEB) NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology Thesis for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor Faculty of Social Sciences and Technology Management Norwegian Centre for Child Research (NOSEB) © Mayumi Takahashi 978-82-326-0756-3 (print) 978-82-326-0757-0 (digital) 1503-8181 Doctoral theses at NTNU, 2015:47 Printed by NTNU Grafisk senter Preface When my journey toward a PhD degree began in the Norwegian Centre for Child Research (NOSEB), I thought it would consist of three years research and living in Norway. It turned out to be long battle with literature, papers, language barriers, cultural differences and more, which I often felt like an emotional roller coaster. This thesis is my story of the long process. The process of working on this thesis has been a valuable learning experience and I have enjoyed myself immensely (although I have occasionally also been very frustrated). The initial excitement and passion I felt when I first received the e-mail for this PhD position from NOSEB in 2008 has continued to stay with me throughout this long process. This thesis could not have been finished without the openness and generosity of preschool teachers, children and mothers who participated in the research. I am grateful to the preschool teachers for including me in their everyday activities and providing me with opportunities to spend time and space with the children. Special thanks go to the children in the preschools who showed and shared with me the varying and diverse aspects of their childhood experiences. It was a trip down memory lane to my own childhood when I joined in singing children’s songs, keeping secrets from the teachers and being part of pretend play. Without this close participation in and observation of children’s everyday world, writing this thesis would have been monotonous. In addition to the people in the preschools, I am grateful to the mothers for sharing their child- rearing and mothering experiences with me. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my two supervisors, Professor David Buckingham and Professor Vebjørg Tingstad. David’s generous support during my research and his insightful feedback to my thesis pushed me to be more critical and connect childhood studies and consumption studies, which has become the contribution of this thesis. He also encouraged me to publish articles and supported me with thorough readings and constructive comments. I have learned a lot from his broad and i comprehensive knowledge. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Vebjørg who has warmly watched over me and supported me in my struggles with my research and writing. It has been a privilege to have such engaged and patient supervisors. A number of people and institutions have assisted me through seminars, conferences and informal discussions. Throughout the PhD period, my office has been located at the Norwegian Centre for Child Research (NOSEB): many thanks to NOSEB for providing a wonderful academic environment. I also want to express my sincere appreciation to my fellow PhD scholars for their endless encouragement, friendship and for giving me a ‘home from home’. I also would like to thank the scholars from the Pedagogy department at NTNU for offering many opportunities to improve my writing competence and the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS) for granting my writing scholarships. My deepest gratitude goes to my family and friends who always supported me and stood by my side. To my friends in Japan, Norway and other countries, thank you for your unique “I have no idea what a PhD is, but I believe you can do it” encouragement. Finally, I have nothing but gratitude for my beloved parents. My father has been a main source of strength behind my achievements, and my mother has always filled me with care and confidence to go through the challenges during my PhD period. Without them, none of this would have been possible. Trondheim, January 2015 Mayumi Takahashi ii Summary of the Thesis This thesis, entitled Young Children and Consumer Media Cultures in Japan, explores the role of consumption practices in the social interactions and everyday lives of young children and mothers in a suburban context in Japan. With its focus on young children (aged between 1 and 5) and mothers as primary care-givers, it analyses how they experience consumer media culture while using, creating, controlling, transforming and adapting commercial goods and knowledge, and the part this plays in their presentation of self and their construction of interpersonal relationships in the home and the preschool. My PhD research was affiliated with the research project at Norwegian Centre for Child Research (NOSEB), “Consuming Children: Commercialisation and the Changing Construction of Childhood”, financed by the Norwegian Research Council from 2006-2009. The data were obtained through five months of fieldwork that involved ethnographic methods such as participant observation, interviews and home visits. The thesis is based on the perspectives of childhood studies, consumer culture theory and commercial enculturation. Following a discussion of theory and methods, it includes three analysis chapters. Chapter 5 focuses on mothers’ ideological dilemmas and their construction of identity through caring consumption. I explore how mothers take responsibility for products, services and experiences on behalf of their young children, while reflecting on children’s future becoming and present being. Chapter 6 focuses on young children’s sense of belonging in peer consumer culture. I explore the significance of children’s having and knowing in preschool settings and discuss how the meanings and values of certain possessions and forms of knowledge are consistently interpreted and transformed among peers. Chapter 7 focuses on flexible social identities, and in particular how children maintain different kinds of boundaries and transform cultural resources in play. I explore the ways in which consumption practices serve as tools for children’s construction of social identities. Ultimately, I argue that consumption is not a simple matter either of control or of free choice, and that researchers need to look beyond some of the dichotomies that have tended to characterise discussion of these issues. With this thesis I am hoping to make empirical, methodological, theoretical and disciplinary contributions to both childhood studies and consumption studies. iii Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................................i Summary of the Thesis............................................................................................................iii Chapter 1 Introduction ...........................................................................................................1 1.1. Background, aims and perspectives................................................................... 1 1.2. What is consumer culture?................................................................................. 2 1.3. Who are child consumers?................................................................................. 5 1.4. Research questions............................................................................................. 8 1.5. Outline of the thesis ......................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2 Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................13 2.1. Understanding Children and Childhood .......................................................... 13 2.1.1. Childhood studies ..................................................................................... 13 2.1.2. Challenging mainstream discourses on children ...................................... 15 2.1.3. Key characteristics of perspectives in contemporary childhood studies .. 17 2.1.3.1. Social construction of childhood....................................................... 17 2.1.3.2. Recognising children’s conditions and activities.............................. 18 2.1.3.3. Childhood and adulthood .................................................................. 19 2.2. Understanding Consumption and Consumer Culture ...................................... 21 2.2.1. Pessimistic debates surrounding consumption ......................................... 21 2.2.2. What about consumer agency?................................................................. 25 2.2.3. Consumer culture theory (CCT)............................................................... 27 2.2.3.1. Common structure of theoretical interest.......................................... 29 2.3. Children and Consumer Media Culture ........................................................... 32 2.3.1. Children as consumers.............................................................................. 32 2.3.2. Commercial enculturation ........................................................................ 34 2.3.3. Peer consumer culture .............................................................................. 37 2.3.4. Friendship and belongingness .................................................................