Advertisements affecting the youth of India

Advertisements affecting the youth of India

In advertising, you promote products, ideas, concepts, and so on in an impersonal manner. Businesses advertise so that consumers will become familiar with their products. These efforts make the young generation aware of their products.

Advertisements bombard people throughout the day, and the human brain cannot keep track of all these at once. Celebrities from various fields, such as films, sports, etc., are used in ads to make them stick in the minds of consumers.

Companies use the youngest generation as a target to influence their families’ buying behaviour because they follow the latest trends. Celebrities are copied, and their fashion is copied. Many people use the stars’ products, and the star’s social ego is satisfied. Unfortunately, it sometimes harms them.

Their ability to think can be corrupted by excessive involvement in these activities. A person may become bound to an idea due to excessive involvement in these kinds of activities.

It is common to see celebrities performing difficult stunts quite easily in most television commercials. Many children perform these stunts without any supervision at home. Numerous incidents have occurred where such attempts have been miserably unsuccessful, resulting in serious injuries or even fatalities.

Introduction to Advertisement

The purpose of advertising is to communicate with the users of our products or services or the general public to promote our products, services, or ideas. Most advertisers are companies that want to market their products or services. Advertising is a form of marketing where the advertiser controls the message.

Various forms of advertising are employed, such as traditional media like newspapers, Newspapers, magazines, televisions, radios, and new media such as Google search results, blogs, social media, text messaging, or websites. The purpose of commercial advertising is to increase the consumption of a product or service through “branding”, which aims to develop associations between a product’s name and certain qualities in the minds of consumers.

Advertisements and the Youth 

The advertisement industry heavily influences young people. With social media affecting youth widely, modern society has increased the number of advertisements reaching equally high audiences. Kids nowadays are used to being bombarded with ads throughout the day, and promotions have become a part of their daily lives.

These days, they are so used to seeing and hearing advertisements that they do not even realize they are doing so. Advertisements have a persuasive effect on teenagers. Consumers and advertisers are constantly seeking ways to market and sell their products to younger audiences by making their commercials and advertising campaigns memorable, which will leave a lasting impression on them.

In addition to having more spending power than ever before, the younger generation has increased opportunities for advertising. Consequently, companies tend to spend large sums of money securing the endorsement of celebrities, athletes, musicians, etc.

Their famous personas leave their mark on their fans, similar to how famous people follow their lifestyles and styles. This is especially true for the younger generation who follow the footsteps of their idols in everything from choosing what to wear to what to eat. 

In addition to ensuring popular brand loyalty, these advertisements feature famous people to ensure widespread popularity. The last decade saw numerous celebrities appear in ads. Young audience members are pretty weak and defenceless when it comes to advertising, which is why superbrands have targeted new and outrageous ways to lure them through appealing campaigns.

Adverts are ‘big business’ in a sense and play a significant role in the lives of young people, who need media literacy skills to understand the effects of advertising. Doing so will mitigate the adverse effects of advertising on young people.

The renowned footballer and health nut Cristiano Ronaldo has been in the news lately for removing two Coca-Cola bottles from his press conference at the European Championship. The man held up a water bottle before saying: “Agua! “. it encouraged people to drink water instead. The drinks company’s share price fell by $4bn. Ronaldo’s gesture saw Coca-Cola’s shares fall 1.6% from $56.10 to $55.22 almost instantly following his gesture, which is one of the official sponsors of Euro 2020.

From $242 billion to $238 billion, the market value of Coca-Cola increased. Ronaldo Ronaldo’s responsible behaviour gesture is truly commendable, especially coming from someone of his stature. In showing that he cares about his fans’ lives, he shows that he knows his impact on their lives.

Even though advertisements can provide valuable information and guide one in making an informed decision, some promotions have significant effects on youths, including influencing their choices, lifestyles, and personalities. Advertisements impact the minds of young people in both positive and negative ways. 

How Do Advertisements Affect Children?

The content, the quality, and the presentation of an advertisement can have positive and negative effects on children. Even though advertisements may have a few positives, some of their negatives can undoubtedly outweigh them. A child’s stubbornness makes it hard to convince their parents to buy a particular product.

Often, their judgement is based on the item’s face value, and they suggest purchasing it, regardless of whether it would be helpful to their family or not. Children also lose a sense of living a good life free from material possessions after watching commercials and incorporating certain brands into their daily lives.

Children acquire information at a much faster pace than adults since their minds develop rapidly. All marketing and ad agencies are very aware of this, just like you and me. Consequently, you can find more and more television advertisements these days to market their products to young children. Children’s shows are interspersed with ads for products, including toys, foods, energy drinks, clothing brands, etc.

These advertisements may only last a few seconds on-air and are very short in length, but their repetition and content and visuals have a powerful and lasting effect on younger people. The information they take in can influence their instincts and decisions. Furthermore, as a result of advertisements flooded into print or social media, children are now exposed to many commercials.

There may be television commercials made without sending inappropriate messages to children but are made to make them aware of the brand. The ‘Genius’ brand of biscuits powered a campaign that encouraged children to cultivate their creativity, making them masters of their craft. Children gain familiarity with brands from such advertisements, and sometimes they can assist their parents in selecting products.

Furthermore, advertisements that emphasize oral hygiene, the use of health supplements, and other healthy habits encourage kids to keep them up. For example, Children were encouraged to open their own savings accounts after seeing an advertisement about a girl who collected coins.

Children’s minds are also positively affected by ads promoting family values and togetherness. A child will also want to make her family and friends happy if she sees another child her age polishing shoes to help her grandfather.

These advertisements’ positive aspects certainly cannot outweigh the negative aspects of others. When children refuse to buy a particular product, they irritate their parents. Rather than assessing an item’s usefulness and affordability, they judge it by its face value and recommend its purchase regardless of its usefulness or affordability.

Children also lose the feeling of living a life free of material possessions after watching commercials and forming habits with specific brands.

Children also develop a habit of comparing brands, products, or individuals in advertisements that follow this trait. After watching commercials like these, they compare themselves to their friends, peers, and siblings, which may lead to them feeling inferior or superior to other people.

It was not a good idea for children to see an advertisement in which some children mocked a child, evidently because he was not using the brand they were promoting since he was taking longer to wash his hands.

In addition to this, some advertisements also portray children misbehaving, like not respecting elders or speaking back, which is not behaviour that we want our children to exhibit. Today one can see a television advertisement in which a young boy screams at his father for not constructing his house using waterproofing. In addition, some products are advertised through appeals targeted at adults, which are, of course, inappropriate for young children.

Another example – is a bike stunt company often uses visuals of adventure sports or stunts performed by professionals in its advertisements. Children ignore these warnings and attempt to replicate these actions at home, despite the ad warning them not to imitate the stunts. Children may sustain serious injury if they try this.

Furthermore, the advertising campaigns for pizzas, burgers, chips and other junk foods promote cravings for these items, which have adverse health effects on children. Since they are young, they cannot recognize the adverse effects of excessive consumption and the nutritional value of homemade foods. According to several studies, children eat unhealthy snacks more often after watching advertisements for junk food.

I agree that promoting one’s product to children to boost sales is legitimate, but I also believe there is a need to understand the effects specific messages have on children. Advertisements must be carefully crafted at both the production and approval levels to send the right message.

Children cannot always get what they want from their parents, and parents also need to act firm from time to time. As well as not letting advertisements influence their children, they should teach them to value money. Providing an innocence-filled childhood, a world free of materialism, and a life filled with health and happiness is the primary responsibility of all of us.

Positive Effects of Advertisements

• In addition to educating youth about new products on the market, advertisements often present innovations and technological milestones that can be a source of information since they give innovations and technology.
• Children can choose healthy foods if they are advertised in the right way.
• Advertising can also provide kids and adolescents with highly motivating content that encourages them to pursue a specific dream. The youth can fulfil their dreams and develop a passion for their profession.
• Advertising for hygiene or cleanliness can encourage youngsters to take good care of themselves.
• By showing other young people their age interacting with those activities like helping with household chores and saving.
• Information can obtain from them. Advertising, especially public service announcements, can provide children with valuable opportunities to learn about technological innovations and milestones. They are also a valuable source of information for consumers.
• A balanced diet can also be encouraged by making healthy food choices accessible in the right way.
• Children can learn good habits from specific advertisements, such as hygiene products.
• Children can also be encouraged to pursue a specific dream or profession by ads with motivating content. They can inspire them to work towards the same early in life and help develop their passion for it.
• Kids can learn to help out in the house and save by seeing other kids of their age doing the same.
• In some cases, ads that carry content relevant to social change can do wonders for children to foster empathy and a sense of duty.
• Children can also be encouraged to take action by the environmental protection advertisements.
• A cautionary advertisement about the risks of alcohol and smoking can give children an understanding of the risks associated with such products and encourage them not to use both.

Negative Impacts of Advertisements

• You may have trouble persuading them to buy a product they like. The parent may face a stubborn child as advertisers direct their marketing strategies toward children.
• Children often misinterpret advertisements, and they may focus mainly on the negative aspects of them as opposed to the positive aspects.
• Some advertisements depict dangerous stunts. Children may attempt to imitate these stunts, even though they come with a statutory warning.
• Manufacturers aim to create flashy advertisements to secure a recurring business. Children are therefore prone to developing impulse buying habits.
• Advertising that unrealistically presents things or events is another problem with advertisements that children often fall for.
• Additionally, ads may lead to children developing a materialistic worldview. In their innocent minds, children can be influenced by content that imparts the notion that material wealth is necessary for a comfortable life when they are repeatedly exposed to it.
• Developing brand consciousness and an affinity for expensive branded items is possible. They may disregard inexpensive products that work just as well.
• There is a wide variety of junk food advertising on these websites. Consequently, children are exposed to unhealthy food choices.
• Advertising can also significantly influence a child’s choice of toys, clothes, or luxury items.
• Moreover, children may experience lower self-esteem if they think they are less than their friends because they do not possess the various products advertised in general.
• As children grow up believing this to be the norm, the sexual objectification of women in advertisements is problematic.
• Children tend to lose touch with reality due to many adverts successfully blurring the line between real and reel life.
• Certain advertisements mock another person’s use of a different product by using comparative visuals. Comparing themselves with others can instil in children the concept of inferiority and superiority.
• If the advertisements visually show that some inappropriate acts, such as lying or cheating, are acceptable, such an impression can create a vulnerable child.
• Ads are directed at youth, so youngsters may influence to purchase products due to their persuasive power. Children with a stubborn streak may insist on buying the products advertised.
• It can be hazardous to portray stunts in advertisements. There are statutory warnings for these stunts, but sometimes the kids disregard them and attempt them anyway.
• Most foods or beverages advertised on food or beverage commercials are junk food. These factors can influence youth and lead to unhealthy eating habits and lifestyles.
• Certain advertisements that sexually objectify people are disturbing for young people since they think this is normal.
• Vulnerable people may believe such behaviour is acceptable if they see the visual portrayals of lying and cheating.
• Using this method, products, concepts, ideas, etc., are promoted in an impersonal way.
• Adverts play an increasingly important role in every person’s life, especially youth.
• To reach out to consumers, companies advertise their products. By doing this, companies appeal to younger consumers.
• To make sure that the customer retains the information in the advertisement for as long as possible, the company’s workers cannot advertise and promote their products. Celebrities from movies, sports, and television have been used in the ads.
• Younger generations become the target. This is due to their ability to follow the latest trend. Young people are affected both positively and negatively by advertisements.
• Celebrities and their families will influence or force people to buy their products. Celebrities today copy the way they dress, eat, and have things. And that’s why people use celebrities as role models.

Conclusion

To stop the negative influence of advertising spreading among the youth, some tips can give such as limiting the time spent on screens, downloading television programs to avoid watching advertisements, and other alternatives.

The problem is that there are so many innovative advertisements that it is near impossible to ignore them all. Newspapers, billboards, television, and luggage tags are all mediums for advertising. Educating young people on the finer points of marketing can eliminate the negativity surrounding advertisements.

Edited and published by Ashlyn Joy