Infantalization

"Consumerism describes a society in which many people formulate their goals in life through acquiring goods that they clearly do not need for subsistence."

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To say that the infantilist ethos prefers easy over hard is actually also to say the young are naturally drawn to what is simple rather than what is complex and what is fast rather than what is slow. Phrases such as ‘easy listening,’ ‘shopping made easy,’ ‘easy(appropriate for ages 2-8) games’ and a person of ‘easy morals,’ push and promote commercial products tailored to the attention span and tastes of the young. Easy in the realm of happiness supposes simple pleasures trump complex ones, whereas spiritual and moral leaders have generally made the opposite case.

- Excerpt from Con$umed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantalize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole by Benjamin R. Barber