Advertising is big business. It is the chance for companies to make consumers aware of their products and convince those consumers to buy their products. It seems reasonable to think that “consumers” means adults and not children. After all, adults are the ones who work, who bring home paychecks, and who should decide on which products to buy with that paycheck. However, advertisers have found that children are a lucrative target audience for marketing. Annually, children age eleven and under spend about $18 billion of their own money, while adolescents spend up to $160 billion per year. Children ages 8-12 (considered pre-teens) strongly influence spending of over $30 billion of their parents’ money, and children under 12 and teens influence a staggering $130-670 billion of their parents’ spending (Common Sense Media, 2010). With numbers like that, it is no surprise that companies are spending time and resources in marketing directly to children. Watch any cable channel geared for children and it becomes obvious that no expense is spared in wooing the young viewer. With such large numbers, it is safe to assume that this advertising is working; otherwise, companies would not continue doing it. So how exactly does this marketing affect children? There are several ways, but this paper will focus on just two: childhood obesity, and body image in teens.
. Just why are younger children so easily influenced by marketing directed toward them? The answer, according to an article by the American Academy of Pediatrics, is that “young children—younger than 8 years—are cognitively and psychologically defenseless against advertising. They do not understand the notion of intent to sell and frequently accept advertising claims at face values” (Committee on Communications, 2006). This would seem to be why marketing to children is such a lucrative market. Advertisers can essentially “trick” children into wanting their products. Furthermore, by making sure...