YOUNG CONSULTANTS
These days, "what do you want to do when you
grow up?" is the wrong question to ask children in the USA. The question
should be: "what job are you doing now?" American companies are employing
more and more young people as consultants to evaluate products for child consumers.
The 12-to-19 age group spends more than a $100 billion a year in the USA. Specialist
agencies have been created to help manufacturers ask kids about all the latest
trends in clothes, food and other markets. One firm, Teenage Research Unlimited,
has panels of teenagers who give their verdict on products like jeans. Another
company, Doyle Research Associated, holds two-hour sessions in a room called
the "imaginarium". Children are encouraged to play games to get into
a creative mood. They have to write down any ideas which come into their heads.
Some manufacturers prefer to do their own market research. The software company
Microsoft runs a weekly "Kid's Council" at its headquarters in Seattle,
where a panel of schoolchildren give their verdict on the latest products and
suggest new ones. One 11-year-old, Andrew Cooledge, told them they should make
more computer games which appeal equally to boys and girls. Payments for the
work are increasingly attractive. Andrew Cooledge was paid $250 and given some
software. However, even if their ideas are valuable, the children will never
make a fortune. They cannot have the copyright to their ideas. These
are precarious jobs, too. By their mid-teens they can be told that they are
too old.
QUESTIONS
A) What is the "imaginarium"?
1) a place where children can sleep and their dreams are analysed
2) a place where children can become actors
3) a place where children play with toys and try to find new ideas
B) How are consultants paid for their job?
1) money
2) money + presents
3) They are not paid
C) Who is Andrew Cooledge?
1) a member of Microsoft
2) the boss of "Kid's Council"
3) a young consultant
ANSWERS
A3 | B2 | C3