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Television Advertising Effects

Decent Essays

Television has a tremendous impact on the American culture. Even though television has positive effects, the negative effects of television outweigh the positive effects. The majority of television watched is through advertisements. Television advertisements have a great impact on Americans, especially the youth. In fact, a young person views 40,000 television advertisements per year (Committee on Communications). Concerning a child’s developing cognition and social pressures, television advertisements negatively impact American youth in the areas of behavior, health, and ethics. A young child’s cognitive abilities are not as developed compared to adults. Research shows that a child, before the age of eight, does not have discernment …show more content…

Most advertisements’ purpose is to try to sell a product. This exposure to commercialism can lead the child to adopt a materialistic viewpoint. The more the child sees, the more the child will want. This may be beneficial for the seller, but this may be harmful for the child. This wanting may eventually lead to dissatisfaction of what they already have and to covet what others have. “Those expecting material possessions to bring happiness may in fact experience satisfaction from their goods for a time, but through adaptation processes dissatisfaction will eventually reassert itself” (Richins). Adolescents who are working through self-consciousness and self-doubt may “rely on consumption symbols for self-expression and self-worth and to manifest materialism to a greater extent than adults” (Pechmann). Tension in families may arise, as well, for researchers “have found that parent–child conflicts occur commonly when parents deny their children's product purchase requests that were precipitated by advertising” (APA).
Television advertisements can impact a child’s health. The impact not only effects their physical health but also effects their mental health. For physical health, commercials have been linked to obesity. “Studies have documented that a high percentage of advertisements targeting children feature candy, fast foods, and snacks and that exposure to such advertising increases consumption of these products” (APA). For the majority of ads, the

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