The effects of advertising on toddlers is an example of how we are brainwashed by media's "weapons of mass consumption"

Date:   10/2/2006 3:46:43 PM ( 18 y ago)

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2006/10/02/advertisements-toddlers.html
- That link to a CBC story about how toddlers are humming MacD tunes used in their advertisements.

This shows a "compliance factor" on the part of watchers of television, where we - not just toddlers - get the messages they send out and we do not resist that message very well.

"Resisting messages" is not taught to people, so how would we know that it may be an art form that would make our lives better? With the overwhelming, saturated, ingeniously designed advertisements on the one hand, and very little mechanisms for people to decipher which, if any, messages we should take to heart, it is not surprising that people are "living their lives as the TV would have them live their lives".

"Whats the problem with that, isn't it good for the economy?" - is a question the media industry would use to defend their advertising tactics. We might even hear ordinary people using this arguement when the issue is raised. If so, there is work to be done in educating people about their faith in television ads. And yes, it does help the economy, but just the economy of the Elites, and very little for the average person except those with jobs in the advertising industry who could be using their talents in much higher pursuits.

Parents, especially, are the ones who need to be aware of the problems of being "brainswashed consumers", but everyone should have some degree of cynicism, some kind of resistance, to these messages.

The people who create ads are some of the smartest people on the planet. Recruiting and high wages scoop up the most talented ones. Ads are designed to get you to do things you would not usually do, and to have highly motivated consumers who DEMAND to buy certain products and services. The combination of kids demands to parents, and the effectiveness of the tv ads, helps them do this.

The result? - obesity, for one.
quoted from the link above:
"The commission cited reports indicating that the average child watches two to four hours of television per day and views about 40,000 TV ads every year. The majority of these ads are for cereal, candy, toys and fast food."
-end quote-

And so, we get fat kids!!!
- is it any wonder? ? ? Cereal,Fast Food, Candy...

yesterday I heard a teenaged girl DEMANDING cigarrettes from her MOM!!! she said "well Fuuuuuuck, i Waaaaaant some!!!" to her mom.
Perhaps this really is a big factor in it all - parents with no guts, parents with not enough self-respect as to be able to be a hero to their kids, a role model, or even someone "who knows best" - that takes a bit of healthy ego on the part of the parent, just enough to say "I know better than you do", not broken and desperate parents that our society is creating.

With toddlers, with their whining and other tactics of persuasion, parents need to be able to say NO. There is so much offered to them that is not good for them.

Of course, I would also be in favour of government regulations on media that says these ads cannot be run that sells bad choices to toddlers, or anyone.
Only good things that build up society, not things that weaken it. No more fast food adds for sure, at lest while there are trans fats in them!!!


Beyond food choices, we are bombarded with ads for fast vehicles at a time when horsepower is a bout to wreak havoc upon earth's climate. We are shown sexually active youths to be role models for our youth. We are being sold the American Dream on TV ads, and it is a hollow and unhealthy lifestyle that we have adapted as a result.

TV ads are powerfull no doubt, and as a "weapon of mass consumption" they must be regulated far more than they are now. It is certainly a prime factor in our lives and in our awareness that cannot simply be allowed to serve itself in its own best interests - the interests of a healthy and functioning society are at stake.





 

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