Negative Influence Of Advertising On Children

Children are the most influenced age group by advertising messages on television, internet and newspaper ads. Large companies flood billions of dollars a year to manipulate the immature minds of America through colorful, deceptive messages hidden in media. Advertising directed towards children is a very common occurrence in modern day television and other forms of media, but is it fair to place a bright color picture in front a child that lacks cognitive thinking skills? No marketing directed towards children under the age of 8 should be banned because it leads to child obesity, encourages child parent conflict and is morally wrong. In the United States large fast food companies spent millions of dollars directing colorful advertisements to young children for fast food with little nutrients and health value. This subsequently leads to children wanting to consume more junk food and many experts believe it helps contribute to child obesity. Food marketing, the Institute of Medicine says, “intentionally targets children who are too young to distinguish advertising from truth and induces them to eat high-calorie, low-nutrient (but highly profitable) “junk” foods” (Children as Consumers, Calvert). Children are very impressionable and often are completely unable to fully understand marketing as deceptive, instead they process it as the truth. They see …show more content…
But that doesn’t mean that we should allow large company to blatantly target the children of America on television networks dedicated to children. Any ad directed to a child under the age of 8 should be banned in order to protect the youth of America. This would ensure the protection of children in their most vulnerable state of life from being unknowingly targeted and influenced by a system of advertising that they are completely unable to understand and