Advertisements for Growing Up Too Fast
Advertisements and commercials have become such a large part of the media. While most people attempt to skip as much of the advertisements as they can, it is becoming harder to avoid. Some online media, like Facebook, have found a way to counteract people skipping through advertisements by forcing them to watch in order to get the content they desire. Facebook has done this by placing advertisements in the middle of videos so that users have to watch through the ad in order to finish the video.
On television, a lot of people choose to record shows to watch back after they have premiered, simply for time convenience and/or to avoid commercials. When watching back a pre-recorded show, television commercials are easy to avoid. However, some television premiers are timely and are therefore less engaging to watch after the premier date. A few examples of these include sport events and audience voting programs like America’s Got Talent or Dancing With the Stars.
Often times ad content is matched up with the program content that it plays during. For example, during a football game there might be a lot of advertisements for men’s cologne as a primary audience for this kind of program is men. However, when watching live television, it is not always easy to predict what kind of advertisement you might see during the commercial break. In fact, it is often surprising to see the content that some networks allow to be advertised on channels that children may be watching.
What shows, movies and video games that children should be able to watch is a common debate and has been studied for many years. The emotional and behavioral effects that violent and sexual content has on children is something that has been studied for years. However, what about television commercials? What about the content that parents are unable to control? A parent may be able to prevent a child from watching certain television shows, but it is much more difficult to prevent a child from seeing something inappropriate in a commercial.
These kinds of ads can be seen on a variety of channels. Not surprisingly, they can be more easily found on television channels and shows that are directed toward adults. However, they can also be seen during family programming such as the super bowl. This article gives six examples of super bowl ads that may not be the most appropriate for youthful eyes. While these examples may prove to be more on the comical side, and may not be understood by children, there are others that are more promiscuous and potentially harmful to a child.
For example, fragrance commercials (like this one) often show two people, lightly dressed, in some sort of sexual encounter with music in the background. One recent fragrance commercial showed a well-known actress running through an empty space, peeling off clothing as she went. At the end, the naked actress burst through a wall. Is this something kids should be seeing? Then there’s of course ads like those of Victoria’s Secret. These ads show women lounging around in their undergarments, typically near a bed and in some sort of sexual pose. Lastly, ads for sex-related items are questionable as they openly advertise things that children do not necessarily even know about. This may lead to questions that parents do not want to answer until the child is older.
It is hard to tell whether children pay no attention or too much attention to commercials like these. However, it is worrisome to think about the effects these advertisements could have on children if they are watching and listening closely. With the combination today’s different media, children and adolescents have an easier time than ever seeing things that their eyes may not be ready for yet.
