I recently was sent a link to watch an excerpt from the documentary "Kids and Money", by Linda Greenfield, that followed kids from a variety of Los Angeles neighborhoods and holds ongoing discussions with them about the role that money plays in their lives. This got me thinking about the Carl Elliott piece we read from his book Better Than Ever and how there is this chain effect going on within technological consumer culture: adults use enhancement technologies for themselves, then for their children, then for the children they are going to have, and then all of a sudden there is a culture of children with the desire and capabilities to use such technological "enhancements" on themselves. All of these enhancements cost money, whether it's spending five dollars on lipstick or thousands on orthodontics, the access to money creates a specific menu for what enhancements are available.

In the film, there is one girl that really stood out to me because of her relentless dedication to achieving and sustaining the look of what appeared to be a plastic Barbi Doll, pre-puberty. She found the enhancement technologies that were appropriate for her: not breast augmentation, but laser hair removal for her arms, nose alteration, weekly manicures, twenty-something pairs of designer jeans, orthodontic work in process, pink lipstick, spa treatments, gym memberships, etc. These enhancements create the identify of the little girl speaking in the film, and that is what Elliott claims on page 244 of his book, but then continues to point out that this relationship between technological enhancements and self identity is more complicated with children because the self is still being formed.

"In this world, you consume in order to change the quality of your inner experience." This is now true to those 'tweens' whose inner experiences consist of what color nail polish to wear in order to attract a certain boy in the lunch room. Phoniness isn't even a question for this particular type of enhancement addict, its a way of creating and exhibiting your individuality through physical construction and dress-up. Ellioit proves that consumption has turned into a form of liberation and the road to finding your authentic self, or creating the developing self of a young girl. A new nose means you can really be you, so why not start young.

So if this young lady, who is thirteen years old, desires lazar hair removal and nose surgery should she get it? I The adults in her life are giving her the support and resources she needs to obtain these enhancements that will ultimately improve her self-esteem, popularity and chances of finding a mate in life. Ethics aside, a new generation of enhancement technology has materialized, and it lacks any sort of differentiation except age group. If the allowance of a thirteen year old to indulge in her insecurities, the same insecurities all puberty stricken girl experiences, how will she be affected later on? Elliott proves that when a parent is using enhancement technologies on their children, all goes wrong when the child learns they have a "nature and will of their own". So when the children start acquiring physical enhancements that resemble that of a human thirty years older, there is something going wrong. I'm not exactly sure where this will lead, but with an abundance of money, and a twelve year old mind, finding or forming 'individual authenticity' will take shape through the widespread transmission of cultural ideology.

This is the link to the film. Beware, it's extremely disturbing. http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/kids.html