Impacts of Advertisements and Reality Shows on Children - Essay Example

IMPACTS OF ADVERTISEMENTS AND REALITY SHOWS ON CHILDREN Art March 21, Part Research Proposal Television shows and advertisements have the ability to attract a lot of audience and influence the way they live. In How to watch Television, Thompson Ethan and Mittell Jason argue that television shows can lead to formation of communities and cultures within a society (263).1Monday Night Football and many other Sports shows attract a lot of audience in America(Thompson and Jason 264).2 According to Henry Jenkins, television viewing has changed from dormant form into interative form(343).3 In early days, people would just sit and watch Tv, but currently, Tv programs are made to encourage viewers’participation (Henry 343).4Reality shows in particular require viewers to call and send text messages in order to influence the verdict of the judges(Henry 343).5 A show such as the American Idol in 2003 would attract more than 20 million calls or text messages per episode during its final weeks(Henry 343).6Marketers use the calling data to place their commercials during the most popular TV shows in order to reach out to their potential market(Henry 344).7According to Jhally, most of the advertisements broadcasted on TV are grossly misleading(217).8Although some programs purpot to unscripted, this is not always the case (Jhally 217).9The growing form of interactive viewership has allowed the advertisers to direct consumers towards certain consumption habits(Jhally 217).10Interactive viewership has also led to the formation of some cultures and social groups that shape the strategies and decisions of the corporates(Jhally 217).11 The popularity of the American reality TV shows lies on the fact they are short termed and carry a lot of drama and excitement(Henry 344).12 The fact that the characters that are staged on reality TV are real makes many people to be excited about them(Henry 350).13The stardom that is generally associated with reality shows creates a lot of appeal among the viewers(Henry 351).14 The reality TV shows and the incorporated advertisements have significant impacts on our cultures and social behavior. Many viewers, especially children, tend to have their hero from the reality TVs with whom they like to be associated with. In most cases, reality TV show participants are coached and therefore, do not portray the true selves as they make us believe (Henry 355; Rideout, Ulla, Donald1).1516 According to Victoria, Foehr, and Roberts, an average American child spends more than four hours watching television every day (2).17 Although there are a lot of researches on the impacts of watching television among children, people seem not to put these impacts into serious considerations (Rideout, Ulla, Donald 1).18 Concerns have been raised on the effects of violence and nudity expressed in reality shows on children (Rideout, Ulla, Donald, 2).19A research that was undertaken by Johnson, Cohen, Smailes, Kasen, and Brook indicates that television viewing can lead to aggressive behaviour among children (2468).20 Although it may be flawed to argue that children watching violence on television are going to be violent, we cannot ignore the impact television viewing hason the way children think. There is little research that specifically looks into details how reality shows and advertisements are shaping the lives of American children. This paper is going to critique impacts of reality television shows and advertisements on the children. The paper will try to answer the questions such as; do images and messages expressed in advertisements and reality show affect the way children think and behave? The paper will provide a critical analysis of the impact of advertisement and reality show on children based on the published research articles. Part 2: An Essay Impacts of Advertisements and Reality Shows on Children Introduction Television has many benefits such as keeping us entertained during our free time and providing us with real-time news and information that influence our daily decisions. Television is one of the most popular forms of entertainment in a family setup. The popularity of watching television during our free time has attracted a lot of corporates to advertise their products during popular television broadcasts such as news and reality shows. Just like many other life phenomena that have both advantages and disadvantages, television viewing has its merits and demerits. Television viewing has been criticized by some quarters for promoting dormant behaviors that are leading to lifestyle complications such as obesity (Alderman, Smith, Fried, and Daynard 90).21Television viewing can also steal much of our productive time that would otherwise be utilized in studies and work. According to Victoria, Foehr, and Roberts, an average American child spends more than four hours watching television every day (2).22 This time can alternatively be invested in studies and helping out in home chores that help in children positive growth. Although there are many educative programs that run on television every day, it is likely that most children do not watch them. Most children are likely to watch reality shows and other entertainment programs that fit their tastes. Children’s programs are also often interrupted by commercial messages and advertisements that are targeted at children. Reality shows and advertisements play a major role in influencing the way the children behave (Victoria, Foehr, and Roberts 2).23 Reality shows and advertisements Reality shows are television programs that unscripted and normally depict people in their day to day lives (Holmes, Su, and Jermyn, 24).24 Reality television shows include genre such as hidden cameras, celebrity exposes, talent shows, lifestyle-changing shows, unscripted dramas, and dating shows (Holmes, Su, and Jermyn, 55).25 Some of the popular television reality shows in America include;Keeping up with the Kardashians, The Survivor, The Bachelor, American Idol, The real housewives of Beverly Hills, America’s next top model, Dancing with the stars, Amazing race, Hell’s kitchen, America’s got talent, So you think you can dance, Shark tank, Big brother, Dance moms, among others. Although by definition, television reality shows are supposed to be unscripted, this is not always the case(Holmes, Su, and Jermyn, 23).26Some shows look to be well rehearsed but presented as reality shows. Some reality shows can include a narrator who explains the storyline and highlight the key issues in the show (Holmes, Su, and Jermyn, 48).27 Reality shows were originally cast on radio in 1940s until the 1950s when they made the switch to televisions. One of the earliest reality shows to feature on television includesthe original amateur hour in 1948 (Slocum 25).28The reality show required people to cast vote on who they wanted to feature and what they wanted on the show (Slocum 25).29 The popularity of the reality shows has made many advertisers to broadcast advertisements during the shows. In most cases, reality shows are sponsored and therefore,sponsors such as coca cola, McDonalds, and other corporates always interrupt these programs to put across their messages. Advertisement though is an old practice that has existed since the dawn of trade. It is generally meant to persuade potential customers into buying a certain product or good. Modern advertisements concentrate on branding through associating a product name or a certain image with their products quality in the minds of the consumer. Big companies are using celebrities to advertise their products with the intention of creating an association between the celebrity statuses of the celebrities with their products. Advertisement using celebrities is more prevalent in reality shows (Morris, Theresa, and McInerney, 135).30 Viewers watching such shows tend to associate themselves with certain popular characters in the shows and are likely to buy products that are linked to them. Positive Impacts of reality shows and advertisements Many reality shows are developed or cast with the aim of cultivating a positive culture and attributes among the followers. According to Manish, Daga, Chhabra, and Lilani, children spend most of their time watching television than anything else(40).31This means that television has higher influence on how children behave than parents and teachers do. Although reality shows are produced majorly for entertainment purposes, they are capable of influencing the way people live and behave more than other television shows. Reality shows have high influence on children behaviors because they purport to present real life scenarios (Manish, Daga, Chhabra, and Lilani 43).32People are likely to try to emulate how their idols behave on television. When the idols portrayed on television depict positive characters, it becomes beneficial when people try to copy them. However, it seems some of the idols are highly coached and depict characters that are too ‘perfect’ to be emulated. Trying to emulate characters in reality television shows is likely to lead to frustrations. It is however possible to learn some virtues from the characters. We can all agree that parents have an important role to play in order to ensure television watching is beneficial to their children. For instance, parents should limit the time children spend watching television in to ensure that there is a balance between watching television and other responsibilities. Theyshould also guide their children on the programs they are supposed to watch. Watching television with children helps the parents to guide their children on important life skills. Television shows set a platform for discussion of pertinent issues in the society that parents would otherwise ignore when talking to their children. Children can learn skills such as counting, reading and solving problems through watching reality television shows. Television can be very effective educational tools for children when they are cast wisely. Reality television shows can help children learn about their roles in the society and help them fit better in their families and society. Reality television shows teach teenager how to interact with others and understand the complex interactions and form of communications in the society. Children who watch television are more creative, read more books and attain high grades in school (Holmes, Su, and Jermyn, 273).33A reality show such as teen mum educates teenagers who became pregnant on life choices they make after getting pregnant. Although there is split opinion on whether such reality shows are positive in influencing teen pregnancy, there has been marked decline in teen pregnancy in U.S. Negative Impacts of reality shows and advertisements Many parents believe that television have a negative influence on how their children behave (Mittal, Manish, Daga, Chhabra, and Lilani 40).34 Children are becoming increasing nagging and demanding based on what is advertised on televisions.35Children normally pester and nag their parents to buy them what is advertised on television (Mittal, Manish, Daga, Chhabra, and Lilani50).36 An average American teenager is exposed to more than 20,000 television commercials per year (Mittal, Manish, Daga, Chhabra, and Lilani 47). 37 Embracing what is advertised on television has made children to take up more influential roles in the family’s decision-making process. Advertisements and their correlation with celebrities have lured children into making more purchase demands to their parents (Mittal, Manish, Daga, Chhabra, and Lilani 40).38Reality television shows have many negative impacts on the lives of many people. Advertisers make use of different strategies and codes to appeal to their target audience. They use elements such as beauty, family relations, and romance to target ladies, while they employ ruggedness and fraternity to target male consumers (Mittal, Manish, Daga, Chhabra, and Lilani 41).39 The language used in advertisement is brief and persuasive. It is formulated in a way that appeals to the spiritual and motivational needs of the Americans. Celebrity culture seems to be favored in the American market (Patino, Kaltcheva, and Smith, 288).40 This is why advertisers use venues such as reality television shows to present their advertisements. Reality television shows are able to establish a high level of connectedness between the celebrities and the audiences. Many teenagers post on their social media network sites stuffs associated with television reality shows (Patino, Kaltcheva, and Smith, 288).41 The engagement of teenagers in active following of reality television has helped programmers and advertisers to make decisions on where and how to schedule their programs and advertisements (Patino, Kaltcheva, and Smith, 289).42According to Patino, Kaltcheva and Smith, about 14 percept of television schedule on cable networks were reality shows (288).43Reality television shows are particularly popular among the teenagers. Most of the popular reality television shows among American teenagers include;American Idol, The Real World, and the Survivor(Patino, Kaltcheva, and Smith, 288).44 There is evidence that reality shows have significant influence on the way teenager behave (Patino, Kaltcheva, and Smith, 292).45 Most of the young people try to emulate the stars in reality shows. Reality shows are able to influence the way people buy, what they buy and how they dress (Patino, Kaltcheva, and Smith, 292).46 Children regard reality TV stars as role models to be emulated (Patino, Kaltcheva, and Smith, 289).47According to Anthony, Kaltcheva and Smith, they also perceive advertisements to contain truthful information about the products and services advertised (291).48 Many advertisers are targeting children because they are believed to be the long-term consumersof their products (Shrum 251).49These advertisements are meant to influence the children’s consumption patterns. However, targeting advertisements to children has been criticised by some sources on the basis that children are vulnerable and defenceless (Shrum 263).50 Different states have set different laws that regulate advertisements targeted to children. These laws are meant to regulate the timing, the content and the number of children advertisements that should be broadcasted by a television channel. It is important for parents and teachers to come up with programs that educate children on the true intent of advertisements. Most children consider advertisement as informational rather than promotional (Shrum 253).51 On the children perspective, advertisement serves to advice about what is right toeat, dress andbehave (Shrum 253).52 Children are attracted to graphic and entertaining advertisement that employs the use of cartoons, animals, and humour (Shrum 257).53 Although some children are aware of the interests of the advertisers, integrating the advertisement in the programs they follow makes it hard for them identify the difference (Shrum 266).54Children’s advertisements are generally colourful and captivating (Patino, Kaltcheva, and Smith, 289).55 Advertisers use the celebrity to endorse their products in order to attract a lot of attention from the viewers. The use of celebrity endorsers in the advertisement is meant to create the impression among the viewers that the product is likeable (Patino, Kaltcheva, and Smith, 289).56 This is why advertisers are targeting reality shows in order to connect their products with those celebrity figures (Patino, Kaltcheva, and Smith, 289).57 Although some people think that reality television shows have no impact on their lives, they can influence their lives in a great way. Many reality television shows are produced to entertain and educate people on weight loss, diet and health and fitness. Despite the good intention of these reality television shows, some of the shows have received a lot of criticism for promoting hidden agendas (Shrum 289).58 For instance, the 16 and pregnant reality show was seen as educating teenagers against early pregnancy, but some people have claimed it was a method of controlling birth. Fast food companies such as McDonalds and KFChave particularly been blamed for targeting children in their advertisements (Schröder andMcEachern, 218).59These restaurants use toys, paraphernalia and graphic images that are meant to lure children into craving for the fast foods (Schröder and McEachern, 218).60 The restaurants employ the use of cartoons, television personalities, sport figures, and movie stars in their advertisements for children’s food. Children who see these advertisements tend to form cravings for fast foods. Consumption of fast foods among kids leads to unbalanced eating habits. Conclusion This essay provides a critique on the impacts of reality shows and advertisements on children’s behavior. Although everyone is influenced by advertisements on what to buy, children are more vulnerable to the message portrayed in the advertisements. Children are perceived to lack the cognitive reasoning that can help differentiate between a promotional and informational message. The characters portrayed in the advertisement in reality shows are likely to influence the way children behave. Although some people have argued that television shows help improve the cognitive ability of the children, most people have criticized television for misleading children. Advertisement on food products have been blamed for influencing the eating behaviors of children. The idea behind targeting children in advertisement is that they offer a long-term customer base. Advertising junk food to children lead to formation of unbalanced feeding habits that they take to their adulthood. Childhood obesity has been blamed on consumption of unregulated amount of junk foods.Fast food restaurants have been notorious in targeting children in their advertisements. The use of colorful images and cartoons are meant to attract children audience. The restaurants have used movie stars and reality television stars to associate them with their brands. Since many children like associating themselves with the reality television stars they admire, they end up consuming the products they represent. Television viewing also cultivates negative values such as materialism by portraying content that make the viewer’s insecure. People are made to feel insecure when compared to wealthy and more endowed characters that are normally portrayed in television (Shrum 218). 61 Despite the negative criticism that has been revered towards television reality shows, some have been credited for educating teenagers on issues concerning sex, drug use, and education. Carefully chosen television programs can help children develop in the society. When parents are involved, they can help their children to choose their programs wisely. Watching reality television shows can help teenagers develop skills such as reading, listening, social, political, and societal values. Television reality shows are a good way to expose children to diversity in the society. Advertisements can also help children foster their creativity. The personalities displayed on reality television can also become good role models for the children. When negative content and opportunistic advertisement is controlled, television becomes beneficial to children. Television shows also provide an opportunity for parents to interact with their children and educate them on real-life issues. References Alderman, Jess, Jason A. Smith, Ellen J. Fried, and Richard A. Daynard."Application of law to the childhood obesity epidemic." The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 35, no. 1 (2007): 90-112. Holmes, Su, and Deborah Jermyn, eds. Understanding reality television.Psychology Press, 2004. Jenkins, Henry. "Buying into American Idol: How we are being sold on reality television." Reality TV: Remaking television culture (2009): 343-362. Jhally, Sut. "Advertising as religion: The dialectic of technology and magic."Advertising& Society Review 1, no. 1 (2000). Johnson, Jeffrey G., Patricia Cohen, Elizabeth M. Smailes, Stephanie Kasen, and Judith S. Brook."Television viewing and aggressive behavior during adolescence and adulthood." Science 295, no. 5564 (2002): 2468-2471. Mittal, Manish, AnishaDaga, GinniChhabra, and JyotiLilani."Parental Perception of the Impact of Television Advertisements on Children’s Buying Behavior." The IUP Journal of Marketing Management 9, no. 1 (2010): 40-54. Mittal, Manish, AnishaDaga, GinniChhabra, and JyotiLilani."Parental Perception of the Impact of Television Advertisements on Children’s Buying Behavior." The IUP Journal of Marketing Management 9, no. 1 (2010): 40-54. Morris, Theresa, and Katherine McInerney. "Media representations of pregnancy and childbirth: An analysis of reality television programs in the United States." Birth 37, no. 2 (2010): 134-140. Patino, Anthony, Velitchka D. Kaltcheva, and Michael F. Smith. "The Appeal of Reality Television for Teen and Pre-Teen Audiences The Power of" Connectedness" And Psycho-Demographics." Journal of Advertising Research51, no. 1 (2011): 288-297. Rideout, Victoria J., Ulla G. Foehr, and Donald F. Roberts. "Generation M [superscript 2]: Media in the Lives of 8-to 18-Year-Olds." Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (2010). Rideout, Victoria J., Ulla G. Foehr, and Donald F. Roberts. "Generation M [superscript 2]: Media in the Lives of 8-to 18-Year-Olds." Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (2010). Schröder, Monika JA, and Morven G. McEachern. "Fast foods and ethical consumer value: a focus on McDonalds and KFC." British Food Journal 107, no. 4 (2005): 212-224. Shrum, L. J. "Television viewing and social reality: Effects and underlying processes." Social psychology of consumer behavior (2009): 251-272. Slocum, Charles B. "The real history of reality TV or, how Alan Funt won the cold war." Writers Guild of America, West.Writers Guild of America, West.Web 9 (2010). Thompson, Ethan, and Jason Mittell, eds. How to watch television.NYU Press, 2013, 263. Read More