The Exploitation Of Children In Television Advertisements
Across America in the homes of the rich, the not-so-rich, and in poverty-stricken
homes and tenements, as well as in schools and businesses, sits advertisers' mass marketing
tool, the television, usurping freedoms from children and their parents and changing
American culture. Virtually an entire nation has surrendered itself wholesale to a medium
for selling. Advertisers, within the constraints of the law, use their thirty-second
commercials to target America's youth to be the decision-makers, convincing their parents
to buy the advertised toys, foods, drinks, clothes, and other products. Inherent in this
targeting, especially of the very young, are the advertisers; fostering the youth's loyalty to
brands, creating among the children a loss of individuality and self-sufficiency, denying
them the ability to explore and create but instead often encouraging poor health habits. The
children demanding advertiser's products are influencing economic hardships in many
families today. These children, targeted by advertisers, are so vulnerable to trickery, are so
mentally and emotionally unable to understand reality because they lack the cognitive
reasoning skills needed to be skeptical of advertisements. Children spend thousands of
hours captivated by various advertising tactics and do not understand their subtleties.
Though advertisers in America's free enterprise system are regulated because of societal
pressures, they also are protected in their rights under freedom of expression to unfairly
target America's youth in order to sell to their parents, regardless of the very young's
inability to recognize the art of persuasion.
In the free enterprise system, the advertiser's role is to persuade consumers to buy
their products/services. They are given a product/service and are required to use their best
creative effort to make this product desirable to the intended audience (Krugman 37).
Because of this calculated and what many deem as manipulative way of enticing the target
audience, the advertising industry is...
More Social Science Essays
essays:
How do TV shows reflect american culture?
... rich parents, provides for the perfect situation to make them look like rich brats. Although Beverly Hills 90210 is not a perfect reflection of American culture, it ...
Are there any arguments to be made that self-sufficiency is desirable? What would be the arguments of those who contend that trade in cultural relics should be strictly state-regulated?
... are due to division of labor (advocated by liberal economists). Self-sufficiency leads to an inefficient use of labor and stagnation. Open ...
Self-Sufficiency and Trade/Whether or not it would be feasible for Ohio to stop trading with surrounding states
... were American Indian tribes. They had no others to depend on, so they depended on themselves to provide only the basic needs to survive. I do not believe that any one individual can be self-sufficient. If ...
Cultural Diversity: An Aztec-Mexican American Cultural Interview and Assessment
... values, health beliefs and practices, childbearing and parenting practices along with culturally sensitive intervention to assist a Hispanic patient of Aztec-Mexican decent. Cultural Diversity: An Aztec-Mexican American Cultural Interview ...
Are Advanced Industrialized societies characterized by the existence of an "underclass' Give USA and England as eg's.
... a self-sufficiency which is seen as a threat to the social and economic well being of a country. With respect to England Murray used a cultural approach ...
Comparison of Turkish and American Cultures from Business Perspective
... the American culture. First of all, individualism plays an important role, which is why the need for personal responsibility, independence and self-fulfillment ...
American Culture: About how things influence american lives
... the many cultures today. Money is a very big aspect in the American culture. One ... they should be banned. These are just a few of the many cultures in America ... they want to bother me. In conclusion I feel our culture should not value a person self worth or possessions they have. I think a person should ...
"Social Psychology." Over the years certain patterns of interactions between men and women (Latin-American culture)have evolved.
... Latin-American culture)have evolved. The interaction between men and women in the Latin-American culture is ... decisions without argument, and show submission to them. A concept that will help us understand some of the women's behavior in Latin America ...