Adapting Food-Related Communication to Children

This collection of essays examines the multifaceted nature of food-related communication for children, an area that has become increasingly significant within the digital age. Beyond its nutritional value, food has always served as a powerful social and cultural connector, with traditions and rituals transmitted across generations. In addition, the contemporary media landscape, characterized by the excessive visibility of both children and food on social media, has given rise to the concept of the ‘consumer-child’. This has led to concerns about the negative health impacts of marketing that often promotes unhealthy dietary options.

While other fields, such as marketing, media studies, and literary and cultural studies, have explored the symbolic and socio-political dimensions of food representation for children, the volume identifies a significant gap in linguistics and communication studies. To address this gap, the chapters included in the volume aim to shed light on how food is represented, narrated, promoted, and translated for younger audiences across various genres, including corporate communication, digital media, and translation. Finally, the volume also presents the results of the two-year SPIN2023 research project funded by “Ca’ Foscari” University of Venice.