The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture

by Gabor Maté

Even as parental stress and peer orientation weaken children’s connections with nurturing adults, the corporate siege of immature minds has exploited and exacerbated the void created by the loss of connection. They act symbiotically to drain childhood of the emotional richness our development thrives on. A decade ago Bakan warned, “The average child in the United States watches 30,000 television advertisements a year—most of which pitch products directly to them . . . and all conveying a series of subtle, and corrosive, messages: that they will find happiness through their relationships with products—with things, not people; that to be cool and accepted by peers, they need to buy certain products; that fast food and toy companies, not parents and teachers, know what is best for them; that corporate brands are the true bases of their social worth and identities.”[9] These trends have only accelerated since then with the further spread of social media and digital advertising.