Essay On Negative Effects Of Advertising

1026 Words3 Pages

Children are subjected to tens of thousands of ads every year through a variety of media platforms. The insane amounts of advertisements kids meet has many negative effects on their lives such as distorted body image, increased child-directed marketing, and push to become consumers, as well at the glorification of unhealthy consumption habits of food, drugs and alcohol. These implications last not only through childhood, but also carry over into their adult lives.

Young people, especially girls, are bombarded from an early age with ads and images in movies, magazines and on the television showcasing society’s ideal body image and therefore presenting the importance of physical attractiveness. A study from 1996 looked at three weeks of Saturday morning cartoons and found that half of all ads directed towards girls had some mention of physical attractiveness (“How Does Today’s Advertising Impact on Your Body Image”). How are young people, specifically females, supposed to …show more content…

Companies realize this and take advantage of children’s defenselessness to sell their products. By easily convincing a child to want something, corporations know that they have an automatic route to the parents, and their wallets, through children’s persistent nature and nagging. It is completely unfair for large companies to use children and their moldable minds as a means to sell more product. Yet, advertising directed to children is legal and continues to happen everyday. In their defense large companies will say that it is the parents that should be the ones protecting their children and teaching them about the truth of advertising, but with the amount of ads children see everyday, it can be nearly impossible to give direction on all of

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