Notes

Advertisements target a specific group of people to inform about and sell a particular product or service. We see many advertisements targeting children, but are these advertisements necessary? What are the risks? In this essay it will elaborate of why we should we place restrictions on marketing to children and the risks of advertising to children.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of children in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Childhood obesity is a disorder where a child has too much unnecessary fat. Advertising is said to be one of the main reasons the obesity rate in children is increasing is because of marketing and television advertisements that target them.

Another reason advertising directed at children is bad is because the advertisements create a distortion of
fundamental life values. These fundamental life values are your guiding principles, or moral code of conduct for an organization, and should rarely be changed. Adults are able to see through these demoralizing advertisements because they have formed critical judgment, however, children have not. An example of some advertisements, a child flatters and assists adults only to get candy. They are not able to see that it is not right to do these things because of their judgement is weak.