Among the more persistent and consistent shifts among teens is the way they interact with their parents. Firms that chart family relationships have noticed a steady change in the last 20 years.
“Every piece of research I do, when I ask them who is most important to you, it’s mom and dad,” said Paul Kurnit, founder of the youth marketing consultancy KidShop. “Kids may argue with their parents. But when the chips are down, those are the go-to people.”
It wasn’t long ago that marketers talked about the “nag factor” — or, as it was known in Europe, the “pester principle.” The idea was to get kids to bug their parents to buy them something or take them somewhere.
Now, those marketers who try to pit teens against their parents may quickly learn that they’re the ones the kids see as the enemy.
“Today’s kids and their parents get along a lot better than parents and kids did a generation ago, or even half a generation ago,” said Greg Livingston, whose Wonder Group firm published a book that looks at the family as a single shopping entity. “They’re on the same team today. Parents are looking for their kids to recommend things to them. Conversations take place and the decision to make a purchase happens.”
Some of that is driven by the rapid evolution of tech gadgets. Who better to advise the busy, digitally challenged mom or dad on the latest mobile music solution? Or to aid in the installation of a new household finance program on the family PC? In many homes, the teen is the family tech troubleshooter.
But the dynamic extends beyond advice about iPods. Parents and teens have more similar tastes in clothes and music than ever before. And today’s teens have more to say than ever about where the family goes on vacation and what model car it chooses to drive.
“When the 13-year-old says he’s not going to be seen in that ugly green sedan,” Livingston said, “the parent is now listening.”
