A new trend has emerged in consumerism over the past two years. The marketing of cell phones to children has grown dramatically. Phone companies are realizing that parents are increasingly willing to buy cell phones for their children. Major telecommunications providers, as well as well-known companies in the toy industry, market cell phones in ways that make children want them. Companies take note of parents' actions and how they react when their children want a cell phone to determine what works in terms of advertising campaigns. Companies marketing cell phones are deliberately manipulating the divide between children who want a cell phone without knowing the risks and parents who are unaware of the complications of having a child own a cell phone for themselves. Popular toy companies such as Mattel and Disney have been marketing children's phones for several years. Although the goal is to protect children, the underlying result is the same: children begging for yet another “toy” that they are not yet old enough for. This works because the companies that sell them are well known for producing fashionable and fast-selling children's toys. Children simply place a cell phone in the toy category in their minds. However, a child's mind is not yet fully developed, so "he does not necessarily have the understanding of the ways of the commercial world that most adults have." (Advertising Standards Authority) Children simply see that there is something they want and believe they should have it. Advertisements for children's cell phones use bright colors, upbeat, happy music, and show images of other children using the cell phone to attract children. Other advertisements...... middle of paper ......ads/CMPAAA_A4.pdf >"Children and advertising." Advertising Standards Authority. Internet. March 26, 2012.Carvajal, Doreen. “Concerns in Europe over cellphone ads aimed at children.” The New York Times. March 8, 2008. The web. March 26, 2012. Petrecca, Laura. “Cell phone marketers are calling all tweens.” The United States Today. Gannett, September 5, 2005. Web. March 26, 2012. Olsen, Stefanie. “When to buy your child a cell phone.” The New York Times. June 9, 2012. the web. March 26, 2012. “Cell Phones. » CMCH.tv. Internet. March 27. 2012.