Prof. Jody R. Rosen | LC32 | Fall 2023

      Advertising and children’s/teens mental health 

 How does marketing and advertising affect our youth? Advertisements affect our youth on an everyday basis which tends to influence children in many ways.Certain advertisements can expose children to different ideals. Advertisements directed towards children can be found anywhere; such as sugary foods, cartoons, fast foods, toys etc. Advertisements are trying to influence the way you think while adding a narrative about how you feel about a certain topic or it can influence your mindset about something. As a child I remember watching cartoons and wanting to reenact what I saw on television. For example my favorite show was “the magic school bus.  I remember wanting to do the specific things the kids were learning on the magic school bus such as the episode when they went to space. I became infatuated with wanting to visit space and discover the magic animals that were there.

    Statistically 80 percent of children enjoy watching television cartoons daily. In addition, 73 percent of the population accepts the fact that cartoons are considered as the most important entertainment for children. Television advertising leads to unhealthy habits in children. According to the APA task force “Research shows that children under the age of eight are unable to critically comprehend televised advertising messages and are prone to accept advertiser messages as truthful, accurate and unbiased. This can lead to unhealthy eating habits as evidenced by today’s youth obesity epidemic.” Children are mostly easily influenced because their minds are heavily undeveloped. It’s also prominent for children to mindlessly follow or be encouraged by what they are watching because they are learners from such a young age; which can be nature v.s nurture. As quoted from the APA task force about how advertising can lead to unhealthy eating habits, for example mcdonalds targets our youth with characters such as ronald mcdonald, happy meals and toys. As a child I begged my parents to take a trip to McDonalds just for the happy meals and the toys that come with these happy meals, I felt a rushed and euphoric feeling when I thought about getting these things. They specifically target what any child would like and influence them negatively in a way because 2 out of  5 children and adolescents are affected by obesity which is risky for such young individuals. In response to concerns about the impact of advertising on children’s eating habits, various regulations and guidelines have been put in place to limit certain types of advertising directed at children. Additionally, it’s essential for parents and caregivers to educate children about healthy eating habits and to provide access to nutritious food options.

  Children can be influenced by advertising in violent media which can lead to a result in a aggressive behavior and encourage bullying. When children are visually shown these types on media they tend to reciprocate what they see. For example they can be influenced from movies, cartoons, video games etc. American children watch an average of four hours of television daily. Television can be a powerful influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior. American academy of child & Adolescent psychiatry article published in December 2017 states “Children who view shows in which violence is very realistic, frequently repeated or unpunished, are more likely to imitate what they see. Children with emotional, behavioral, learning or impulse control problems may be more easily influenced by TV violence. The impact of TV violence may show immediately in the child’s behavior or may surface years later. Young people can be affected even when their home life shows no tendency toward violence.” Parents can protect children from excessive TV violence in many ways such as limiting the amount of time they spend with the television, using parental control apps, disapproving violent tv shows or programs etc. There can be a lot of things done to prevent these things from happening. 

Advertisers typically target  our youth because teenagers often exploit their naivety and lack of critical thinking skills, potentially influencing them to adopt unhealthy habits or make poor choices. According to common sense media “ Getting the product in front of a target audience as much as possible strengthens a company’s ability to capture consumers. The need for stimulation. If you’re wondering why commercials for tweens look like they were filmed by a caffeine-addled jackrabbit, it’s because tween brains crave — and respond strongly to — stimulation. If something is exciting, they take notice.” These characteristics greatly influence these audiences into wanting to purchase these certain items creating a spending addiction problem from such a young age. The media can influence our youth in many different ways which contribute to these negative factors.

  In conclusion marketing and advertising negatively impacts our youth’s mental health because it brain washes them, children and teens are more likely to be easily influenced because their brains are under developed. Children and teens  are more so impressionable and vulnerable to what’s being shown to them. Advertisers target them the most because of this obvious factor. It can create unrealistic expectations, promote materialism, and influence their behavior and choices. It’s important to educate them about advertising tactics and encourage critical thinking. 

2 Comments

  1. Binta

    How does marketing and advertising affect our youth? Advertisements affect our youth on an everyday basis which tends to influence children in many ways.Certain advertisements can expose children to different ideals. Advertisements directed towards children can be found anywhere; such as sugary foods, cartoons, fast foods, toys etc. Advertisements are trying to influence the way you think while adding a narrative about how you feel about a certain topic or it can influence your mindset about something. As a child I remember watching cartoons and wanting to reenact what I saw on television. For example my favorite show was “the magic school bus.  I remember wanting to do the specific things the kids were learning on the magic school bus such as the episode when they went to space. I became infatuated with wanting to visit space and discover the magic animals that were there. This showed me how much television can influence children and there interests. 

        Statistically 80 percent of children enjoy watching television cartoons daily. In addition, 73 percent of the population accepts the fact that cartoons are considered as the most important entertainment for children. Television advertising leads to unhealthy habits in children. According to the APA task force published December 2004 states “Research shows that children under the age of eight are unable to critically comprehend televised advertising messages and are prone to accept advertiser messages as truthful, accurate and unbiased. This can lead to unhealthy eating habits as evidenced by today’s youth obesity epidemic.” Children are mostly easily influenced because their minds are heavily undeveloped. It’s also prominent for children to mindlessly follow or be encouraged by what they are watching because they are learners from such a young age; which can be nature v.s nurture. Apa task force. (2004, September 24). What is the impact of advertising on kids?. Common Sense Media. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/what-is-the-impact-of-advertising-on-kids As quoted from the APA task force about how advertising can lead to unhealthy eating habits, for example mcdonalds targets our youth with characters such as ronald mcdonald, happy meals and toys. As a child I begged my parents to take a trip to McDonalds just for the happy meals and the toys that come with these happy meals, I felt a rushed and euphoric feeling when I thought about getting these things. They specifically target what any child would like and influence them negatively in a way because 2 out of  5 children and adolescents are affected by obesity which is risky for such young individuals. In response to concerns about the impact of advertising on children’s eating habits, various regulations and guidelines have been put in place to limit certain types of advertising directed at children. Additionally, it’s essential for parents and caregivers to educate children about healthy eating habits and to provide access to nutritious food options.

      Children can be influenced by advertising in violent media which can lead to a result in a aggressive behavior and encourage bullying. When children are visually shown these types on media they tend to reciprocate what they see. For example they can be influenced from movies, cartoons, video games etc. American children watch an average of four hours of television daily. Television can be a powerful influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior. American academy of child & Adolescent psychiatry article published in December 2017 states “Children who view shows in which violence is very realistic, frequently repeated or unpunished, are more likely to imitate what they see. Children with emotional, behavioral, learning or impulse control problems may be more easily influenced by TV violence. The impact of TV violence may show immediately in the child’s behavior or may surface years later. Young people can be affected even when their home life shows no tendency toward violence.” Parents can protect children from excessive TV violence in many ways such as limiting the amount of time they spend with the television, using parental control apps, disapproving violent tv shows or programs etc. There can be a lot of things done to prevent these things from happening. 

    Advertisers typically target  our youth because teenagers often exploit their naivety and lack of critical thinking skills, potentially influencing them to adopt unhealthy habits or make poor choices. According to common sense media what is the impact of advertising on kids?. Common Sense Media. (2020a, June 4). https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/what-is-the-impact-of-advertising-on-kids. Getting the product in front of a target audience as much as possible strengthens a company’s ability to capture consumers. The need for stimulation. If you’re wondering why commercials for tweens look like they were filmed by a caffeine-addled jackrabbit, it’s because tween brains crave — and respond strongly to — stimulation. If something is exciting, they take notice.”

    e 4). https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/what-is-the-impact-of-advertising-on-kids. Getting the product in front of a target audience as much as possible strengthens a company’s ability to capture consumers. The need for stimulation. If you’re wondering why commercials for tweens look like they were filmed by a caffeine-addled jackrabbit, it’s because tween brains crave — and respond strongly to — stimulation. If something is exciting, they take notice.”

     These characteristics greatly influence these audiences into wanting to purchase these certain items creating a spending addiction problem from such a young age. The media can influence our youth in many different ways which contribute to these negative factors.

      In conclusion marketing and 

    advertising negatively impacts our youth’s mental health because it brain washes them, children and teens are more likely to be easily influenced because their brains are under developed. Children and teens  are more so impressionable and vulnerable to what’s being shown to them. Advertisers target them the most because of this obvious factor. It can create unrealistic expectations, promote materialism, and influence their behavior and choices. It’s important to educate them about advertising tactics and encourage critical thinking. What parents should be doing to prevent children from experiencing bad advertising is limiting and monitoring the specifics that they are watching. 

  2. Binta

    How does marketing and advertising affect our youth? Advertisements affect our youth on an everyday basis which tends to influence children in many ways.Certain advertisements can expose children to different ideals. Advertisements directed towards children can be found anywhere; such as sugary foods, cartoons, fast foods, toys etc. Advertisements are trying to influence the way you think while adding a narrative about how you feel about a certain topic or it can influence your mindset about something. As a child I remember watching cartoons and wanting to reenact what I saw on television. For example my favorite show was “the magic school bus.  I remember wanting to do the specific things the kids were learning on the magic school bus such as the episode when they went to space. I became infatuated with wanting to visit space and discover the magic animals that were there. This showed me how much television can influence children and there interests. 

        Statistically 80 percent of children enjoy watching television cartoons daily. In addition, 73 percent of the population accepts the fact that cartoons are considered as the most important entertainment for children. Television advertising leads to unhealthy habits in children. According to the APA task force published December 2004 states “Research shows that children under the age of eight are unable to critically comprehend televised advertising messages and are prone to accept advertiser messages as truthful, accurate and unbiased. This can lead to unhealthy eating habits as evidenced by today’s youth obesity epidemic.” Children are mostly easily influenced because their minds are heavily undeveloped. It’s also prominent for children to mindlessly follow or be encouraged by what they are watching because they are learners from such a young age; which can be nature v.s nurture. Apa task force. (2004, September 24). What is the impact of advertising on kids?. Common Sense Media.https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/what-is-the-impact-of-advertising-on-kids As quoted from the APA task force about how advertising can lead to unhealthy eating habits. The author gravitates more towards informing how much children can be easily influenced basically warning parents about what can happen. Common sense media should be credential for others who are reading because most children suffer from obesity due to advertising. For example mcdonalds targets our youth with characters such as ronald mcdonald, happy meals and toys. As a child I begged my parents to take a trip to McDonalds just for the happy meals and the toys that come with these happy meals, I felt a rushed and euphoric feeling when I thought about getting these things. They specifically target what any child would like and influence them negatively in a way because 2 out of  5 children and adolescents are affected by obesity which is risky for such young individuals. In response to concerns about the impact of advertising on children’s eating habits, various regulations and guidelines have been put in place to limit certain types of advertising directed at children. Additionally, it’s essential for parents and caregivers to educate children about healthy eating habits and to provide access to nutritious food options.

      Children can be influenced by advertising in violent media which can lead to a result in a aggressive behavior and encourage bullying. When children are visually shown these types on media they tend to reciprocate what they see. For example they can be influenced from movies, cartoons, video games etc. American children watch an average of four hours of television daily. Television can be a powerful influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior. American academy of child & Adolescent psychiatry article published in December 2017 states “Children who view shows in which violence is very realistic, frequently repeated or unpunished, are more likely to imitate what they see. Children with emotional, behavioral, learning or impulse control problems may be more easily influenced by TV violence. The impact of TV violence may show immediately in the child’s behavior or may surface years later. Young people can be affected even when their home life shows no tendency toward violence.” This explains how easily children pick up on what’s shown to them on the internet. The audience targeted to this information would be the parents of children being affected. Parents can protect children from excessive TV violence in many ways such as limiting the amount of time they spend with the television, using parental control apps, disapproving violent tv shows or programs etc. There can be a lot of things done to prevent these things from happening. 

    Advertisers typically target  our youth because teenagers often exploit their naivety and lack of critical thinking skills, potentially influencing them to adopt unhealthy habits or make poor choices. According to common sense media what is the impact of advertising on kids?. Common Sense Media. (2020a, June 4). https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/what-is-the-impact-of-advertising-on-kids. Getting the product in front of a target audience as much as possible strengthens a company’s ability to capture consumers. The need for stimulation. If you’re wondering why commercials for tweens look like they were filmed by a caffeine-addled jackrabbit, it’s because tween brains crave — and respond strongly to — stimulation. If something is exciting, they take notice.” The author explains the impact on how companies are easily able to target our youth and the strategies that are easily used manipulate these audiences and why there targeted.

    Getting the product in front of a target audience as much as possible strengthens a company’s ability to capture consumers. The need for stimulation. If you’re wondering why commercials for tweens look like they were filmed by a caffeine-addled jackrabbit, it’s because tween brains crave — and respond strongly to — stimulation. If something is exciting, they take notice.” These characteristics greatly influence these audiences into wanting to purchase these certain items creating a spending addiction problem from such a young age. The media can influence our youth in many different ways which contribute to these negative factors.

      In conclusion marketing and 

    advertising negatively impacts our youth’s mental health because it brain washes them, children and teens are more likely to be easily influenced because their brains are under developed. Children and teens  are more so impressionable and vulnerable to what’s being shown to them. Advertisers target them the most because of this obvious factor. It can create unrealistic expectations, promote materialism, and influence their behavior and choices. It’s important to educate them about advertising tactics and encourage critical thinking. What parents should be doing to prevent children from experiencing bad advertising is limiting and monitoring the specifics that they are watching. 

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