Academic essay

Nowadays, advertising is an inevitable part of modern society that penetrates into human life through different mediums of media. From television programs, movies to billboards and from the internet to print media and video games, advertisers try to catch our attention and influence our buyer behaviors with intention to meet their objectives. These objectives most of the time are to sell products or services and increase the profit. Advertisers seek, develop and use different strategies and techniques that enable them to catch customers’ attention, get to their minds and finally influence their behaviors and attitudes in a way that is suitable for advertisers. This is really important to notice and realize that children are becoming one of the main lucrative target audiences for advertisers because they can be easily influenced by ads and they actually influence most of the purchases of their families. According to research “young children-younger than 8 years-are cognitively and psychologically defenseless against advertising”(Strasburger) and they do not understand the real purpose of advertising. Children become victims of advertising that sways their behaviors, unfortunately, in the negative way. Consequences of such exposure can be children obesity, low self-esteem as a result of framing the body image in ads, consumption of unhealthy food and shaping good attitudes towards bad habits such as drinking and smoking.

Only on TV, children are exposed to 40 000 ads per year and learn behaviors that can be harmful for them (Strasburger). For example, children obesity is one of the problems that caused by fast-food advertising. This was proved from examination of children from 3 to 8 years old that they ask for junk-food as many times as they have seen television advertising of this food (“Television's Influence”). The study conducted by researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research undoubtedly demonstrates that a ban of fast-food advertising will help to lower the percentage of overweight children by 18 percent in the United States (Lehigh University). Another negative effect of advertising on children is the increasing alcohol consumption. Even though advertisers claim that alcohol ads can influence only people who already drink and cannot prompt children to drink, researchers found strong correlation between increasing child’s consumption of alcohol products and alcohol advertising (University of Florida). Also they found that due to advertising, children have the positive attitude towards alcohol consumption.
Next negative point about advertising is child’s smoking. Many studies demonstrate that children’s smoking is tied with tobacco advertising. Also children who exposed to tobacco ads have more change to be smokers as adults (Strasburger).

Advertising that portrays good-looking and very thin females as the model of beauty influence young girls’ perception about themselves and their appearance. According to a study “69% of girls […] said that magazine models influence their idea of the perfect body shape” (“Eating Disorders”). Children, especially, girls become depressed when they compare themselves with thin models and cannot attain the same thinness. This depression can be the first step to eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia that can lead to dramatic consequences and even to death. For instance, in 1996 researchers from the international ad agency Saatchi and Saatchi discovered that “advertising media may adversely impact women's body image, which can lead to unhealthy behavior as women and girls strive for the ultra-thin body idealized by the media” (“Eating Disorders”).

Advertising is the powerful tool that uses different tricks and stopping powers to catch people's attention. It influences behaviors of adults as like as children’s ones. However, children cannot think critically as adults and evaluate the ads and do not realize the real purpose of advertising by taking its appeals as serious values. Because of this fact, parents and educators should explain, teach and discuss different types of ads with children with a purpose to safe them from harmful and dangerous impacts that advertising can have on them.

References:
Strasburger, C. Victor. “Children, Adolescents, and Advertising Committee on Communications.” Pediatrics 118 (2006): 2563-2569. Retrieved December 28, 2008, < http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/118/6/2563 >

“Television's Influence on Children's Diet and Physical Activity.” J Dev Behav Pediatr (1989): 176-80. Retrieved December 27, 2008, < http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2768484?dopt=Abstract >

Lehigh University (2008, November 29). “Ban On Fast Food TV Advertising Would Reverse Childhood Obesity Trends, Study Shows.” ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 28, 2008, < http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081119120149.htm >

University of Florida (2007, June 28). “Outdoor Alcohol Ads Boost Kids' Urge To Drink.” ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 28, 2008,

“Eating Disorders: Body Image and Advertising.” Eating Disorders Community. Retrieved December 22, 2008,