Question

How does Advertisment hurt the kids you love?

Marketing to children is unfair: Kids are more vulnerable than adults. Their developing brains are no match for today’s invasive and sophisticated advertising.

It undermines parents: Getting children to nag is a common marketing strategy. And it works! Nagging accounts for one in three trips to fast food restaurants.

It glamorizes greed: The false message of advertising — that what we buy will make us happy — leads to excessive and unsustainable consumption.

It encourages unhealthy eating: How effective is junk food marketing? Very! Preschool children report that food in McDonald’s wrapping tastes better — even when it’s not from McDonald’s!

It glorifies violence: Research links media violence to aggression, desensitization and fear, yet violent movies, TV programs and video games are marketed to kids as young as preschoolers.

It distorts body image: From impossibly thin dolls to bulked up action figures to digitally enhanced fashion models, marketers sell kids on unhealthy physical aspirations.

It sexualizes kids:Even very young children are bombarded with graphic media and marketing that encourage girls to focus primarily on appearance and sex appeal.

Discussion: Which effect in this list had a significant impact on your own childhood or adolescence? In what way? Explain how you experienced this effect and what you can do as a social worker to protect children from this effect in the future.

Answer 1

• The most significant impact of advertising on my childhood or adolescence has been related to unhealthy eating. Before my teenage years it was all about clean,home cooked food which my mother used to pack everyday for lunch but once I came into high school,around 15-16 years,I stopped taking lunch and rather preferred eating with friends at our school canteen. Being with friends,hanging out,going for lunches and movies with them and seeing images of enticing food options everywhere definitely effected my eating habits drastically.
• I also kind of pushed my parents into unhealthy eating as well,by going for dinners at various pizza places etc. Even in school we never had healthy snack options,it was always junk food.
• Its very important for schools and parents to keep a check on their child' eating habits and maintain control over it as much as they would not like it.Schools need to elminate all junk food from canteens and replace it with healthy and tasty options and also speak to children about the importance of healthy eating habits.
• Parents need to make sure that they prepare interesting home made and healthy food options for them at home and also play role models to them by eating healthy in front of them and telling the benefits of it.