After reading Perri Klass's blog on How Advertising Is Affecting Children, I reflected on a few things. First, It is crazy to think about how exposed we are to advertisements. According to Statistia.com, 46% of people spend 5-6 hours a day on their phones. In those 5-6 hours, we, including children, are exposed to hundreds of advertisements and may not even think about it. Even though we do not think about it, "even a 30-second exposure to a novel product, one that you've never seen before, changes their preferences for a brand."
To think about nature vs. nurture, I am starting to think/ realize that no matter how the parents raise a child (nature), advertisements will always play a part in how they view the world and their attitudes toward it (nurture). So the question then is, do parents have to be mindful/ control what their kid is looking at?
My answer is no; people do not have to control what their child is watching; I think the nurture side of human development is as important as nature. However, I do think parents should at the very least be mindful or have an idea of what their child is being exposed to. For example, children are exposed to toy advertisements on children's networks. However, there may be some time when they are watching a movie or show on another channel, and that network may show an alcohol advertisement.
No, I do not think you should tear your child away from the television if they are witnessing an ad for alcohol or something "profane," but you should keep it in the back of your mind. The advertising blog talks about an experiment where they followed children from 7th-10th grade to see if exposure to alcohol advertisements encouraged underage drinking. In short, the experts found that yes, it does, but also to other behavioral issues.
Therefore, I say parents should be mindful; because, as stated previously, even 30 seconds of exposure can change the way children feel about a brand. Around the 1970s FCC changed its rules and got stricter was because of studies similar to this one. The fear that children are being essentially brainwashed by television and advertisements was growing. So, in 1970, they decided to ban cigarette ads on television and radio, which made the country torn about. Some people had the fear that children were being brainwashed, and some people had no fear about it and wanted to have minor restrictions on what they could view. Even though advertising, in general, is hard, and advertising to children is much harder, I think we have stepped in the right direction of protecting children. I am not for controlling people but for helping and preventing unhealthy behaviors.
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