Dr. Stephen Kline
Professor, School of Communication,
and Director of the Media Analysis
Laboratory, Simon Fraser University
McLuhan Centenary Fellow,
University of Toronto
"A central theme in my study of Globesity is that children are the 'canaries in the coalmines' helping us to better understand the broader disruption of family life implicit in our media saturated lifestyles. Exploring
the complex and paradoxical ways that screen media influence children’s patterns of play, leisure activities, their diet and food preferences, and theirdiscretionary consumption I suggest thatthe phenomenon of child ‘globesity’ provides a exemplary case study for better understanding the constellation of issuesassociated with children’s so-called empowerment in the global marketplace. Attempts therefore to 'innoculate' children
against commercial persuasion through advertising literacy is both inadequate and wrong-headed given the multiple risks associated with children's mediasaturated lifestyles."
Stephen Kline is the author of
Globesity, Food Marketing and Family Lifestyles
(2010) Palgrave Macmillan.
Refreshments will be provided.
