Nowadays, advertising is ubiguitous. We cannot escape from it; we see it every minute, and it influences the way we consume in everyday life. However, the medium that has the most powerful effect on our consumption habits is television. Advertisements make adults buy things that they do not necessarily need, and it is even worse in the case of young children and teenagers. They are the perfect target for any advertising agency, and commereisls affect them in many different ways.
Many studies show that young children under the age of eight are unable to understand television advertisements.[1] Children tend to believe and accept commercials as truthful and accurate messages. That is why they are the perfect target. For example, I remember myself when I was little; I bought the NESQUIK chocolate milk because of the bunny. I believed it would come out of the box and be alive.
In 2000, the American Psychological Association (APA), found that advertising agencies spent an estimated twelve billion dollars per year, on advertising messages aimed at the youth market.[2] In addition, children on average watch more than 40,000 television commercials per year. With this number, we can imagine the indirect influence that can lead to unhealthy eating habits if they are shown sugary, unhealthy or fast food commercials, or the change in behaviors if shown video games and toy commercials.
It is difficult to reduce the effect of these ads on our children. The APA made some moves to make such ads restricted, especially those aimed at children aged eight and under who lack the ability to recognize the purpose of the ad content.[3] The lack of parental supervision these days is another concern. Parents should reduce the hours of watching TV to two hours a day no more.[4] With the growing number of the children watching TV and accessing the Internet in their own bedrooms, there is no one to explain and clear the ads content, so they are able to distinguish commercial from noncommercial content.
Advertising has changed in the past decade. It has stepped up targeting youngsters to increase selling products without thinking of children’s physical and mental health. With this huge power we should be aware of its influence on our children, and we should always supervise them and make sure the content of ads doesn’t harm them.
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