Home » Advertisements & its impact on children

Advertisements & its impact on children

by IT Web Admin
0 comment 4 minutes read

Via the magic of multimedia brings us closer to the other part of the world. With the stroke of a button we can update the happenings around us. In the contemporary society one cannot do without multimedia and advertisement goes hand in hand.
 Click on the T.V., internet and any sort of multimedia, from the morning breakfast till the late night, be it soaps ,movies, reality shows etc. What pops up is advertisement ,here and there. Advertisement  has become so integral part of our life and society that we cannot imagine any event; news paper, magazines, T.V. soaps, cinema etc. without advertisement.
 As I saw my kids glued to T.V, I went  to my memory lane ,where as soon as I came back from school, had evening snacks and ran with my friends at ‘lampak” playing games ,  Gone are the days where children went out together at Leikaigi Lampak and play games. Like we used to play during our childhood. Above all no lampak are to be seen, community halls replaced the indegenious lampak. What they do today is watch t.v, surf internet or play games on mobiles or playstation etc.
The impact  on adult may be problematic but outcome is devastating for children. . In the 80‘s the target were housewives ,then to youth and now the focus shifted to children. Most of the  advertisements especially Television are targeted to Children: with powerful messages from various media to woo their mind and heart . Television is no longer a source of entertainment for children. They showcase the must haves for a kid making them a consumer even before they have reached the age of 3. Advertising to children is a sensitive and emotionally charged
Issue because they are easily influenced and like to experiment with new things whether it is a product or the way it is advertised. Children today live in a multimedia world. There are more 10 channels, and periodicals along with number of FM channels in India moreover the internet. Whenever T.V. is on in the home it teaches the young viewer so many things about themselves as well as about other. All over the world children have this natural affection from television. It not only entertains them but also is the most powerful teacher of the various programmes like soap, movies, documentaries.
Children are more attracted to advertisements since it tell them a story stuffed in a few seconds, which take them to fairy world of the strongest, wisest, coolest and simply the best.
More recently, advertising is also accused of being a factor in causing children’s obesity .
 The Medium of marketing of most advertisements are of celebrity famed where children are attracted to.  Soft drinks, which contain pesticides almost 27 times higher in India according to the finding of Delhi Based Ngo, Centre for science & Environment Intake of such products is found normal with the growing Children who take it as a part of regular diet instead of nutritious homemade juices like lime, and other fruit juices .And Since children are very fond of clowns and cartoon characters which form the advertising mascot for the target audience.
The early onset of diabetes is mainly due to the changing food habits. A couple of years ago, people in the age group of 20-35 yrs Used to suffer from diabetes. But now children aged anywhere between 3 moths and 17 years are also developing diabetes, which is a causes for great concern. Obesity is not a serious health problem, but it is a prime precursor of many non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases gall bladder ailments, cancer, psycho- social problems breathlessness, sleep disorders, asthma, arthritis , weak bones and reproductive hormone  abnormalities .
Children nowadays decide on what kind of clothes they want to wear or which are influenced by the advertisements shown all over media, billboards & magazines.  But cause a threat to the parents who have budget constrain to satisfy their children‘s need causing  emotional distress among them.
Ask a girl, who would you like to look like? Obviously the answer would be – A Barbie doll. All the girls want to a Barbie doll image & or some  stars who has a stick like figure  , by doing that they hamper their physical health , and ads are also responsible for the problem of child obesity for promoting energy drinks and food products that have relatively high fat and sugar and salt.
Children are more vulnerable to advertisement ,therefore its a great concern for the parents and teachers  to develop the will power and self esteem in children, so as to bring the kids to judge and criticize them. They should also be taught how to become less influenced by the messages in the ads., and also Parents need to teach their  children the importance and value if money.

 

By : Nandita. Maisnam.
Assoc. Prof. Biramangol college.
([email protected])

You may also like

Leave a Comment

ABOUT US

Imphal Times is a daily English newspaper published in Imphal and is registered with Registrar of the Newspapers for India with Regd. No MANENG/2013/51092

FOLLOW US ON IG

©2023 – All Right Reserved. Designed and Hosted by eManipur!

Adblock Detected

Please support us by disabling your AdBlocker extension from your browsers for our website.