Educating for Adolescent Well-Being: Is It Time for Marketplace Literacy?

In today’s interactive marketplace, there is a significant need for consumers of all ages to understand marketing. In this article, we argue that the middle and high school years (ages 12–18) are an opportune time to enhance marketplace literacy because (1) cognitive development is sufficiently mature to effectively learn marketplace concepts and employ that knowledge, (2) adolescents remain vulnerable to marketing activities, particularly for potentially harmful offerings, and (3) adolescents are not only consumers but also marketers themselves in today’s interactive marketing ecosystem, which highlights the need to understand marketplace concepts from both consumer and marketer perspectives. We discuss the potential benefits of enhanced marketplace literacy among adolescents, provide evidence-based ideas for practitioners, and explore future research directions.