In the article “Kids Kustomers” by Eric Schlosser, Schlosser talks about the big idea of kids and advertisements. Ads for children have a great influence because they are everything to a child and eye catching. Schlosser has points that focus on how children get what they want when they see an ad or even a toy on the shelf. As he states the pester power or even just using one the seven kinds of naggings He also touches on the subject that when parents are occupied from their busy schedules they have that sense of guilt towards a child, since they have little to no time they shower them with toys or what they want. Instead of having a control with how children are exposed to seeing ads on a tv children are being overly exposed to technology
They do not have a lot of responsibilities to follow through. Throughout time children have a large opportunity to be exposed to technology, and with that time they have gotten more attached and in need to have that tablet or ipad. Not only does the increase of the type of actions the child needs to take to get it but also changes the attitude of the child. For example when one child gets a phone or an ipad that other sibling wants to have one because the older or other child has one. In Schlosser’s work he states, “ Today children are being targeted by phone companies…….” (223). While phone companies are intending to target children; the child already know that to get something they change their attitude into something rude and nasty. These action and attitudes involve throwing a tantrum in public or even nagging the adult to give them the toy or phone to quiet down. Having a child that grows up with more than one sibling have to have some attention on them. When children have this kind of situation all they would want to do is make the parent feel bad even though they have this guilt bottling up inside of them.Schlosser says , “...feeling guilty about spending and less time with their kids,started spending more money on them.”
... with unlimited advanced technological opportunities we will continue to see problems in this area. Children are exposed to technology at ages as young as two years old. It is easier for a parent to hand their child an iPad rather than to teach them singlehandedly. So again I say that the blame is not necessarily the technology but rather the parents fault for allowing the technology to take ahold of a young child’s developing mind.
I know it can be hard but try to remember when we were kids how much we all loved to wake up early on Saturday morning, sneak to the T.V., and watch our favorite cartoons. We loved to do this not only so that we could see our favorite characters go through troublesome dilemmas each episode, but also that we could see what was new on the market and try to convince our parents to spare a few dollars and buy it. This tactic has been used from years upon years and will likely continue occurring for the simple reason that it works. Businessmen in the marketing know that kids will see the latest and greatest thing and insist to their parent that they must have it. And with a little persistence and maybe a temper tantrum or two, they usually get it. Sometime commercials will appeal to not only the child, but also to parents because they can see the new toys that they are able to buy for their kids. Because there is always a constant demand for new toys, there will always be a entrepreneur trying to make money by creating a product, and market it in the way of commercialization. It is a never ending cycle which will always occur as long as there is T.V. because it is how they make their money.
Commercials make the viewer think about the product being advertised. Because of the amount of television children watch throughout the week, it allows the children to be exposed to the information over and over again. Per year, children are known to view thousands of fast food commercials. On a daily basis, a teen will usually view five advertisements and a child aged six to eleven will see around four advertisements (Burger Battles 4). Businesses use this strategy to “speak directly to children” (Ruskin 3). Although the big businesses in the fast ...
People cannot escape advertising no matter where they go or what they do because it is literally everywhere. With colors, music, and other children in advertisements it makes it easier to grab the targeted audience which in this case is children. Children are unable to escape the advertisements because they are everywhere they turn. Unhealthy food advertisements are all over the place. They are on billboards, television, computers, magazines, newspapers, and more. In sight and in mind. The more unhealthy advertisements children see, the more unhealthy foods they are going to want. “The more television they watch, the fatter they will get.” (“The Whys of Obesity”). If only unhealthy food advertisements would no longer be allowed then maybe people would see a change in the number of obesity in childhood. Parents should limit children’s time watching television and using electronics to decrease the number of unhealthy food advertisements seen and to encourage more healthy foods to be eaten. The poor eating habits that some parents past down to their children are absolutely obscured. It is a sorry excuse for a child’s obesity for the reason to be because of their parents own eating habits. A child should not have to suffer for their parents mistakes. Many parents praise children with sweets and junk foods for doing something good. “Don’t bribe your child with ice cream to get him to eat spinach; it makes the spinach look bad.” (Arguelles 51). “In one
In the case of Kid Kustomers, Schlosser was able to clearly evidence the fact that these advertisers are, by their own admission, targeting kids. It angers me to see that people in marketing, James U. McNeal in particular, have no trouble classifying the children’s nagging into seven different categories, and think it’s an acceptable method to have kids get things from their parents. Sure he favors the “more traditional marketing approach” of convincing the kids that the advertisers are to be trusted “…in much the same way as mom or dad, grandma or grandpa” (Schlosser 355). Children are pliable and using them to sell products is repulsive and immoral, because they are mentally incapable of making rational decisions about what they want. So much, arguably too much, effort is put into learning as much as possible about children, including how they dream. I think the companies that supported the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on advertising to children should have fought harder, because without intervention by someone who cares about the children more than sales, the advertising situation won’t get any
There is focus upon advertising and children for two broad reasons. First, it is because children are children, and are considered separately. Second, it is because children will become adults. Advertising therefore effects behavior during childhood and continues to do so into adulthood. Advertising to children rarely receives a good press, and it remains a controversial topic in the wider domain. Advertisements from Major companies target children on their ads for a variety of reasons. Children are more likely to be swindled by the ads for sugary foods endorsed by athletes. By pro athletes being role models to kids companies hire them to sell their products. Children being influenced by these ads convince their parents to buy them these foods. Without exercise and a healthy lifestyle these ads marketing foods high in fat leads to childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is a major problem effecting the United States. This is alarming because once gained, it is very difficult to get rid of extra weight, and obesity is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, and with a lower life expectancy. Children are now heavier than before and with more kids spending time in doors watching television they take in more ads. More ads mean more money being spent by parents on foods that are not healthy. In addition to using athletes popular cartoon characters are used to make the product seem “kid friendly” and can include catchy songs, bright colors, and animals. It is known that there is a link between the ads of companies marketing to children and the rise of childhood obesity.
As disclosed in the article, The Impact of Technology on the Developing Child, Chris Rowan acknowledges, “Rather than hugging, playing, rough housing, and conversing with children, parents are increasingly resorting to providing their children with more TV, video games, and the latest iPads and cell phone devices, creating a deep and irreversible chasm between parent and child” (par. 7). In the parent’s perspective, technology has become a substitute for a babysitter and is becoming more convenient little by little. It is necessary for a growing child to have multiple hours of play and exposure to the outside world each day. However, the number of kids who would rather spend their days inside watching tv, playing video games, or texting is drastically increasing. Children are not necessarily the ones to be blamed for their lack of interest in the world around them, but their parents for allowing their sons and daughters to indulge in their relationship with technology so powerfully. Kids today consider technology a necessity to life, because their parents opted for an easier way to keep their children entertained. Thus resulting in the younger generations believing that technology is a stipulation rather than a
Report of the APA Task Force on Advertising and Children Media Psychology Research Center- The Intersection of Human Experience and Technology (http://www.childrennow.org/index.php/learn/advertising_to_children) Media Psychology- written by David Giles The Media Psychologist Manifesto- written by Tina Indaleco Media Psychology: A Personal Essay in Definition and Purview- by Stuart Fischoff Media and Youth Consumerism-PATTI M. VALKENBURG
Almost every child between the ages of eight and twelve are getting cell phones. The average home in America has as many televisions as they do people. Only 20% of American homes do not have a computer. Technology is quickly becoming a new way of life. The amount of time people are on their devices is growing rapidly. According to The Huffington Post, people are on their devices for on average about eleven hours and fifty-two minutes a day. That is almost half a day and a lot longer than most people sleep or work. People have not realized yet how they or their families are being affected by this constant use of technology. As a result of technology increasing, children are experiencing health problems, school issues, and social problems.
... Dittman also stated that “the average child is bombarded with more than 40,000 TV. commercials a year” (Dittman, 2004). The campaigns shown on TV persuade children to feel that They desperately need the product and that they have to nag their parents into buying it. product for them, or they will be left out of the cool crowd.
Children between four and eight don’t recognize that ads are paid commercials intended to convince them into buying something. Children see about 6,000 advertis...
Across America in homes, 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.
This makes children’s interest trivial and superficial. For instance, most of children refuse to buy any cheap products. They prefer most famous shop such as H&M, Splash, and Matalan and other brands. This help them to think that the fashionable and people who buy from expensive brand are the best people. As well, it causes them also to communicate with these people only. Thus they will be arrogant and judge people from their forms. In addition, not all parents have the ability to buy from the expensive brand and they try to reduce their spending in order to give their kids they needs and wants. Moreover, several ads seen currently include harmful stunts that kids try to do them. Due to, do not aware and understand the dangerous of it. For example, the ads of Red Bull drink that give energy for people. The company of this drink advertised this drink by famous quote which is “Red bull gives you wings”. Also they are representing this quote in ads. The last bad influence that can considered as the most essential one, is that the advertising can effect self- esteem by makes them feel inferior which weakens the personality of the child. Thus , it causes the kids hate their parents. Due to, the parents do not satisfy their children in the brands they want, food or any other
Kids using cell phones and other tablets are becoming more and more distant from their parents, for the simple fact that the Kids are on the tablets/phones more often than they are with their parents, and as a child you need to bond with your parents and not a tablet/phone. Kids are becoming so used to playing on tablets/phones that they are not going outside and enjoying life as kids did when there was not technology.
With the availability of smartphones, children are becoming familiar with them at a very early age. This leads parents to feel like they can cause their children to have social problems by using the devices too much or to be harassed for not using smart devices. This leaves some parents in between a rock and a hard place. (Craig)