Since the industrial and economic expansion after World War II, the United States has been driven to a society based around consumerism. In the modern era, not only are goods and services are more accessible to consumers more than ever before, but one product may have numerous options from which to choose. This is the result of technology being utilized in order to produce more goods for cheaper prices, which in return alters the supply and demand curve. Yet, the biggest influence of the way in which Americans consume goods and services is directly linked to modern advertising. Advertising has become an industry on its own. The average person sees so many ads per day, he becomes desensitized …show more content…
Advertisements manipulate this judgement found in a human’s self-reflection by linking a purchase to the idea that by having a certain good or service, it will somehow help individuals obtain the qualities they feel they are lacking. Commercials use the popular identity in society in order to market the identity. As an example, if the advertiser gives insight of the popular trend in today’s times is for the potential consumer to have stylish hair because of use of their new product, they will suggest that the viewer’s hair is not up to par, and explain to the viewer that having this new hair product will make them fit in more with their friends and family (or with whomever they are attempting to blend). This is caused by the viewer becoming self-conscious from the language and rhetoric in the ad, and immediately wanting to partake in the hair service so that they can be stylish and fit into the “it” crowd. This example is the main way an advertising agency is able to manipulate a consumer’s self-esteem to sell a product. This effects individuals’ self-esteem because with the abundance of advertisements in the world, people are always feeling subpar in some way, whether it be clothes, hair products, household items, or even cars. This keeps the market alive and causes people to have generally lower …show more content…
This has changed how Americans dine. Venders purposefully make the unhealthy food look more appealing on television by using special make-up techniques such as adding simulated water droplets onto a glass of soda to appeal to the idea the soda will quench one’s thirst, or airbrushing extra color of hamburger buns onto the sandwich in efforts to make it look toastier, fresher and more appealing than what one would find in an actual restaurant. This advertising drives people to eat at the establishments which, not only changes what foods are consumed, but also directly effects their health. It is known that eating releases dopamine in the brain which is the “feel good” neurotransmitter, and causes individuals to become addicted to food as if it were a drug. Fast food is greasy and full of sodium, sugar, and carbohydrates. In moderation, the foods are not completely terrible for a person, but when they are eaten too frequently, as the commercials suggest people should, health problems arise. Problems such as obesity, cardiac diseases, and diabetes may all develop over a period of time. This is an effect of advertising because since the market is able to inform more people about their product, more people are consuming the unhealthy food, becoming addicted, and ending up with diseases they may have not developed otherwise.
Rape Culture and Gender “Rape culture” is a term that describes how a state normalizes sexual assault from the male gender. This idea may stream