The Dangers of Advertisement in School to Our Children
As our society has been rapidly developing and is very wealthy, the number of teen consumer has also increased immensely. According to Lindsey, tanner’s research, this generation has been tagged as the most easily manipulated age group ever. It influences spending of up to US $600 billion a year. Young people view more that 40,000 ads per year on TV alone and increasingly are being exposed to advertising on the internet, in magazines, and in school (The Boston globe Dec 04, 2006).
Many parents try hard to protect their kids from TV and Internet advertising. But how can you shield a child from advertisement when they are being plastered in school? While parents can always turn of the television, however they cannot stop school from advertising. Advertisement in school can harm independent and critical thinking of our younger generations, It is unhealthy for students to be constantly bombarded with ads in a learning environment, kids have little or no money of their own and Children are being persuaded to demand things that they don’t need in their life and to adopt consumerist values, lifestyles and attitudes in their life.
Kid are bombarded with advertisement all day thorough out the day, which effect their decision making. One of the biggest issues of advertisement on teens is health and unrealistic views. One study reports that at age thirteen, 55% of American girls are “unhappy with their bodies.” This grows to 82% by the time girls reach eighteen.
Advertising promotes extremely unrealistic views of society and make believes reality. This greatly affects the views of kids and teens that lack self esteem, and are more easily manipulated into the media and its advertising. These children and teens are given fake views and requirements of what “reality” really is, and the importance of being socially accepted. Now If it this is advertised in the school, kids would be socially trying to fit in knowing they would be segregated in school because the advertisement that is being promoted he doesn’t have but his friends does. He would constantly be trying to get that “item” so he could fit in which would require him to get money which he doesn’t have and so leave lead to the problem of asking his parents.
Kids demand are increasing as more and more products influence their “social culture” and this put so much pressure on the parent that it turn into a burden for them however to satisfy their need, parents usually give in. Kids nagging is a great factor for adverters because they know that the parents get aggravate and persuade them into buying something that will make them satisfy their kids need temporary so they can be happy. Some believe that it’s the fault of the parents who has spoiled their kids; However, parents are stuck between giving what their kids want or risking their child becoming an outsider in society.
Kids now a days are so focused on the advertisement that they forget to do good in school, their distraction will cause them in the future, because them not focusing on school, will affect their lives. Their grades will drop in school because all they care are the materialist things. As they grow old their demand in will increase, this Increase in craving materialist things will hurt him because he will demand more from his parents when they cannot facilitate, and this will lead to problem of aggression. People don’t realize that advertiser, does not care about customer. To them you are just a buyer who is buying their product.
In today society we are infiltrated with non-stop advertising, these advertisement at schools can harm independent and critical thinking of our younger generations, Parents need to protect their kids and speak against school advertisement. Their future is being jeopardized and it need to be protected.
