The Impact of Advertisement on Children - Research Paper Example

The Impact of Advertisement on Children Kholod Almansoori 200800273 ENGL 203/110 Mark Crane Term Paper From the moment we wake up in the morning we watch advertisement. It is everywhere: on the radio, in the Internet, on the TV, in transport, and even on the box of your favorite cereals. When creating advertisement marketing specialists did not take children into account until early 1980-s when they discovered that the youngest members of the families are huge target auditory. Many children have their own pocket many, and many influence their parents in products` choice (Lusted 5). Due to wide access of children to media, infants today have to consume large amount of information from different sources. It was calculated that 94% of children watch TV daily, and almost half of them spend more than 2 hours in such a way (Kapoor 60). With more intensive school programs children have less free time. Television and computers have taken the place of normal children activities such as reading, playing outside, and socializing with friends. Children can be very easily manipulated with the help of advertising messages as they accept them as truthful. Many advertisements are made in such way that they influence children greatly, and can affect their mental and physical health (Nylund). So it is extremely important for parents to be aware of what their children do in spare time in order to regulate the amount of information they consume and prevent negative consequences. The primary interest of this research is negative effects of TV advertisement on children health and behavioral patterns as well as family economy. According to the recent research children are most influenced by food promotion. Moreover, food companies have the most powerful advertising campaigns. One of the major negative impacts of advertising on children is eating habits change due to numerous junk food commercials (Quereshi et al., 2). Most companies advertise food with increased amount of fats, calories, and salt. Numerous sugared drinks, unhealthy snacks, chips, and sweets are promoted products on TV and the Internet. Even cereals which are advertised as useful have increased amount of sugar (Quereshi et al., 2). Kids who are influenced by TV commercials have wrong perception of healthy portion sizes because people on the screen often eat enormous portions. That is why children who watch TV advertisements regularly have distorted eating habits. Teenagers are also affected by TV commercials, although they know the difference between healthy and unhealthy food they usually choose products that are more desirable. It is problematic that eating habits formed in early childhood most likely to remain for the rest of life. Nevertheless, family eating patterns and dietary preferences are estimated to have more influence on children that TV commercials (Quereshi et al., 4). TV is proved to be connected to increase of obesity and overweight in children. Firstly, TV presupposes motionless activity for long periods, which influences metabolism processes. This activity easily becomes a habit for many children substituting normal physical activity. Secondly, children, especially children of younger age, are affected by commercials selling them fast food and junk food in bright packs with ingredients that are unhealthy (Quereshi et al., 2). It is interesting that children with extra weight who worry about their health problem feel better after watching TV commercials but their desire to eat junk food increases (Quereshi et al., 3). According to Quereshi et al., wrong eating habits lead to overweight and obesity which cause serious health problems in children, such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and obesity in later stage of the life” (3). TV commercials also effect children`s daily behavior. According to Katke, children under five see advertisements as entertainment because bright, noisy pictures make them laugh in most cases. The connection between happiness from commercials and brand image plays an important role in children memorizing the product (2). Children’s` inability to differentiate between true and false beliefs makes marketing manipulation more powerful. As a result today many children are capable to name company brands easily and recognize them at very young age, which proves that they are easy targets as they perceive commercials as a part of game. Advertising influences not only physical but mental health as well. Some psychologists suggest that kids accept such negative things as jealousy, competence, lack of empathy, watching TV commercials (Gunter et al., 56) Pre-school children cannot perceive verbal message of commercials and visual effects influence them greatly. Some scientists claim that TV advertisements as well as TV programs contribute to such mental problems as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder but there is still not enough evidence to prove it (Gunter et al., 67). Even older children sometimes believe that the information in TV commercials is trustworthy and accurate. Teenagers are extremely influenced by stereotypes in TV commercials. Sometimes they may not understand the whole message of advertisement but celebrity participation persuades them that the product is desirable (Katke, 3). For example drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco is advertised as cool and “adult”, which results in more and more children trying these activities. Kids today start smoking and drinking alcohol much earlier as when they see that this is acceptable they only want to try. Alcohol also looks much more interesting from the screen of the TV (APA report, 1). From example, beer advertisements are frequent during big sports competitions, cups, and games. Children perceive this drink as easy accessible and positive watching that it is associated with sports and entertainment. Commercials can also promote violence and aggression if they advertise video games, cars, motion pictures. Violence on the screen influence is proved to increase aggression in young children as well (APA report, 1) Stereotypes about gender roles and families also have impact on pre-school and school children. In TV commercials, for instance it is impossible to see a single-parent family as there is a stereotyped image of a happy mother and a working father on the screen. However, in real life children may have other types of families, which can be stressful for them. Teenage girls suffer from TV commercials of beauty products because they promote inaccessible beauty standards and impose unnecessary cosmetics usage (Gunter et al., 66). Advertising also influences family budget as many little consumers after watching some commercials ask their parents to buy them new things. It gets even worse when children notice that their playmates and schoolmates already have the things they want. Commercials can demonstrate the things which become “must have” for children. Children and parents usually have problem with shopping. When a mother refuses to buy a new toy or a chocolate bar to her daughter in order to save some money it can mean that she deprives her from the thing she needs to be happy (Katke, 3). But children soon learn how to manipulate parents in order to get the thing they want, they can scream, whim, threat, and eventually most kids persuade their parents to spend money. Children usually influence family budget greatly. There are certain families where in the purchase decision regarding buying of automobiles, new devices also depend on kids to some extent (Katke, 3). Children have become an important target auditory for marketing specialists. Companies make a lot of kids’ commercials, which consist of bright images, catchy songs, and celebrities’ involvement. However, many advertisements influence children in a negative way. Food companies promoting junk food on TV screen influence children`s eating habits, which leads to obesity and different diseases. Children`s behavior is also affected by TV commercials: kids are prone to smoke and drink alcohol earlier if they see this behavior as acceptable. Advertisements also distort perception of gender roles, family, and beauty and causes stress to teenagers. Moreover, commercials can be harmful to family budgets as after watching them children ask their parents to buy them more and more things. Works Cited APA Report, Television Advertising Leads to Unhealthy Habits in Children; Says APA Task Force, 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2004/02/children-ads.aspx Haroon, M., Qureshi, T. M., Zia-ur-Rehman, M., & Nisar, M. (2011). Does the food advertisement on television have the impact on childrens food purchasing behavior? A study based on pakistan food advertisement. International Journal of Business and Management, 6(1), 283-289. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.mylibrary.qu.edu.qa/docview/848431585?accountid=13370 Katke, K. The Impact of television advertising on child health and family spending. Advertising & Society, 1-6. Retrieved from: http://dspace.iimk.ac.in/bitstream/2259/359/1/283-286.pdf Lusted, M. Advertising to Children. Edina: ABDO Publishing, 2009. Nylund, V. Marketing and advertising to children: the issues at stake. The Guardian, 2014. Kapoor, N. Television Advertising and Consumer Response. 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