I Am a Victim of Advertising

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I Am a Victim of Advertising

You could call me a shop-a-holic, as most of my friends do, but I call myself a lover of fashion. Sitting in my room, I look in my closet at all my belongings and wonder what else I want to buy. Abercrombie, Guess, J Crew, Armani Exchange, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and Banana Republic are just a few of the name-brand items that clutter my room. And I want more. I've never stopped to question whether I'm getting what I'm paying for, though I've always been a "smart" shopper, a sale shopper. But, as I learn more about my future field, marketing, I realize that I am a victim of advertising. All the things I want and buy are influenced by what magazines, television, and other advertisers tell me I need to want and buy.

Everyone wears clothes. They can be a statement, a style, or a definition of who you are. They can also be a simple necessity. For me, clothing has meant different things. As a child, I wore what my mother gave me or the hand-me-downs from my sister. I never questioned how I looked, but I liked to dress up. In middle school, I became more concerned with my appearance, like most girls. I tried to keep up with the fashion, but what defined the fashion? Magazines and television were the big ones for me. I wanted to look beautiful; thus, I wore what the beautiful people showed me I should wear in hopes that I could be just as beautiful, or at least as fashionable. I had a huge desire to be fashionable, because in being fashionable, I believed I could be popular.

As I look back upon those middle school days, I am amazed at how concerned young people can be about their image. Children become so concerned at such a young age with being popular and looking beautifu...

... middle of paper ...

...t someone of the opposite sex. Smoking, drinking, socializing, and looking great in expensive clothing are the images of an attractive person.

Advertisers use our weaknesses to tell us what is new, what we should be like, what is cool, and what is hot. Because human nature makes us want to be popular and glamorous we follow the lead ads give us. Is it the victim's fault for believing, or the fault of society for allowing advertisers to do so? These are the questions I often ask myself as I enter the field of marketing. It is very easy to use human insecurities as a means of targeting consumption, but is it right? How will we ever know unless we step back and stop reading magazines and watching television? How will we know unless society and advertising break their bond? Until then, I will remain a victim of advertising. And so will almost everyone else.

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