Should Advertising to Children be Restricted in Any Way - Assignment Example

1. Many marketing efforts are geared towards advertising to children. These include ads for products such as food items, toys, games, and other similar products that are of interest to children. The average American child watches about 16,000 television advertisements in a year (Watson, 2014). Over the years advertising has rapidly grown to seep into the daily lives of school-going children. As such, advertising targeted towards children should be regulated because of serious health concerns and the psychological implications on children. The issue stems from the fact that children are young beings in the process of development, and who are thus vulnerable to manipulation. Young children, having a limited capacity to reason, often do not know the best for themselves for which they rely on parents for protection and guidance. More and more advertisements try to attract children into unhealthy habits that give rise to childhood obesity, malnourishment, and sedentary lifestyles. Further, advertising to children also has psychological implications. Psychologists studying the minds of children point out a visible change in the thinking of children as a result of consuming huge amounts of televisions ads. Advertising has caused children to be more materialistic thereby replacing their intrinsic interest towards things they actually like (Clay, 2000). Hence, the downsides of advertising targeted towards children are visible in children’s unhealthy habits and changes in their attitudes. 2. Given the scope of the issue, efforts can be made on a community level in order to advocate against advertising targeted towards children. In this regard, a coalition with the community and organizations with similar interests can be formed to add more substance to our voice against advertising to children. An alliance can be formed with ‘Action for Healthy Kids’ which is a collective focused towards healthy eating and other health issues faced by children, many of which including obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and undernourishment, are products of unhealthy habits promoted by advertising. ‘Action for Healthy Kids’ (2015) operates in every state of the United States including New Jersey which will help find local support for the cause and that which is able to translate into a larger impact. Additionally a coalition with the New Jersey government’s Division for Consumer Affairs could be built because the division has been involved with similar efforts that seek to protect consumers related to healthcare issues. The cause is also likely to receive support from the New Jersey state government because they are keen on countering related issues. For instance, an obesity action plan was developed by the New Jersey government in 2006that aimed at countering obesity including childhood obesity (“The New Jersey Obesity Prevention Action Plan”, 2006). Hence an effective coalition can be formed aimed against advertising to children by involving different members of the community, government, organizations, healthcare organizations, and the like. 3 Dear Rep. Tom MacArthur: Childhood obesity has become a serious issue which has been recognized as a “crisis of epidemic proportions” according to New Jersey Legislature. It is pleasing to see that the state government has made efforts to address the situation by formulating an action plan against obesity (“The New Jersey Obesity Prevention Action Plan”, 2006). However it is also important to address the root cause of childhood obesity, undernourishment, and sedentary lifestyles, all of which are promoted through advertising that is targeted towards children. A great majority of American children are exposed to television commercials. Children being vulnerable are prone to adopt unhealthy habits through advertising campaigns aimed at luring children to eat unhealthy food, play excessive amounts of video games, and so on. However, despite its unfavorable impact on children much of the advertisements targeting children remain unregulated. Considering the disadvantages of unrestricted advertising, I believe advertising should be regulated by the government to control what children are exposed to. Not doing so has visible implications on child health as manifested in obesity, malnourishment, inactivity, and a psychological change in attitude as well as developmental issues. Unregulated advertising can adversely impact the future generation of Americans by exposing them to health risks and an unhealthy outlook towards life. Parents should have greater control in deciding what to buy for their children which is in their best interest. Since government is a responsible entity, it should regulate advertising of products such as food items to prevent health and development related issues among children (Heller, 2010). This could be in the interest of New Jersey as healthcare is a major concern. Your action in this regard can help further the cause, and will be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, [Name] 4. A wide range of media channels can be used to advocate against advertising to children in an effort to bring about social change and encourage policy-making addressing the issue. The issue pertaining to unregulated advertising targeted towards children can be mitigated by restricting advertising through effective policy-making. Print media and social media can be used to develop a campaign geared towards raising awareness regarding the negative impacts of advertising aimed towards children. Furthermore, community meet-ups and conferences can be arranged in order to involve members of the community and potential district representatives to the Congress. Print media can be used as a channel to raise awareness through powerful messages in visual form to gauge support for the cause. Hoardings and newspapers can be used to publish messages that aim at informing parents and other members of the community about the downsides of unregulated advertising that can harm children psychologically and health wise. Greater community involvement in the campaign can have a greater impact as it will not only involve parents, healthcare workers but also people in positions of power such as district representatives and other government officials. 5. My position on the issue has remained consistent even though I came across diverse opinions yet I strongly hold my personal stance on the matter of unregulated advertising towards children. Many classmates have made powerful arguments for advertising towards children but I was not convinced and I still have a firm stand against advertising aimed towards children. My own position regarding the matter is influenced by my values that teach ethics and morality, based on which I have concluded that unregulated advertising especially aimed towards children is unethical. I have arrived at a reasoned conclusion which dominates my position on the matter. As such, my position is influenced by reasoning and cost-benefit rhetoric. This shows that people arrive at a position after having evaluated different aspects of an issue which allows them to come to a conclusion regarding the matter although many other factors come into play as well as such as personal values, environment, and so on. 6. In 2010 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its rules that would restrict advertising of tobacco (Layton, 2010). The rules took effect in view of teenagers and other children being marketed cigarettes and other tobacco products. The move was expected to affect the revenues of tobacco companies by controlling the marketing of such products as well as the ingredient composition of tobacco products. Because of its harmful impact on teenagers and children, the step was taken to regulate tobacco advertising. Similarly, food advertising can be limited through regulations so as to lower obesity rates among children (Imus, 2012). Children cannot reason as well as adults, which is why they can fall prey to advertising promoting unhealthy eating habits. In addition to being prone to misinformed advertisements, children are more prone to responding to product aesthetics such as colors, packaging, and typography, which can influence purchases. References Action for Healthy Kids,. (2015). About Us. Retrieved 2 February 2015, from http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/about-us Heller, L. (2010). Governments must control food marketing to kids, finds EU study. Food Navigator. Retrieved 2 February 2015, from http://www.foodnavigator.com/Policy/Governments-must-control-food-marketing-to-kids-finds-EU-study Imus, D. (2012). Limit fast food advertising toward kids, lower childhood obesity rates. Fox News. Retrieved 2 February 2015, from http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/07/20/stop-fast-food-advertising-lower-childhood-obesity-rates/#.VMxIHC3C21M.mailto Layton, L. (2010). New FDA rules will greatly restrict tobacco advertising and sales. The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 February 2015, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/18/AR2010031803004.html Njconsumeraffairs.gov,. (2015). New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs. Retrieved 2 February 2015, from http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/ocp/ Rebecca A. Clay, R. (2000). Advertising to children: Is it ethical?. Monitor On Psychology, 31(8). The New Jersey Obesity Prevention Action Plan. (2006) (1st ed.). Retrieved from http://www.nj.gov/health/fhs/documents/obesity_prevention.pdf Watson, B. (2014). The tricky business of advertising to children. the Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/advertising-to-children-tricky-business-subway Read More