The impact of advertising on children is a severely debated topic, and has been ever since the outset of advertising in its most essential figure. There are unenthusiastic and optimistic social and economic influences upon society from advertising in its different forms.
Researches suggest that children see television advertising as just another form of programming and react uncritically to its messages, which make them especially vulnerable to advertising (Carole, 1999). There is also concern about the way in which adolescent girls respond to advertising that features beautiful, thin models. Research indicates that many adolescent girls are unduly influenced by this standard of beauty, become dissatisfied with their own bodies, and may develop eating disorders in pursuit of a thin figure. New research suggests that adolescent boys are also being influenced by advertising images of bulked-up, buffed bodies. As a result, many become dissatisfied with their own body image, devote large amounts of time to weightlifting, and may even take drugs that have harmful side effects in order to develop more muscle. Those over the age of 60 are thought to be less influenced by advertising, but some elderly people no longer process messages as easily as younger people, making them more susceptible to questionable advertising claims.
The effects of advertising directed towards children are troubling. Children are particularly vulnerable to media manipulation and, unlike adults; they can't understand the long-range implications of their decisions. In other words, children are sitting ducks for advertisers (Carole, 1999). It is believed that consistent and frequent purchase requests by children cause frustration in parents, and children may ask for products their families cannot afford. The actual power that children have over what is bought in an individual house is debateable.
The argument repeated in nearly every document on advertising to children assumes that television....
