Essay on social effects of junk food advertising on digital media
Answers
In recent years, the food and beverage industry in America has perceived children and the youth as a dominant market force. For this reason, children and adolescents have been targeted by extreme, devoted food marketers, and advertisers with negative efforts. Food marketers are fascinated by the youth as consumers because of their spending techniques, and as future adult consumers. Although genetics influences body type and size, there are other factors to consider as well, like the environment and advertising. Now a days people are gaining weight because of unhealthy food choices such as fast foods and eating in front of the television. People are indulging in high-calorie, non nutritious snacks, drinking their calories, having bigger portions on their plates, and lack of exercise are all contributing to the obesity epidemic. According to the American Psychological Association, “The childhood obesity epidemic is a serious public health problem that increases morbidity, mortality, and has substantial long term economic and social costs.” Multiple methods are used to reach youth, beginning with television advertisements, computer games, and toys in meals.
The way that marketers lure children seem unethical because children cannot comprehend the difference between reality and fantasy. Parents should show concern over the way that fast food advertising has pushed their children, invoking them to become overweight and causing tantrums. Especially for young girls with body issues the American Psychological Association states that “Advertising by other industries often objectifies girls and women, contributing to body dissatisfaction, eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression.”
Many adolescents, mainly teenage girls, have body image concerns and engage in unhealthy weight control behaviors. It seems today as though everywhere you turn there are food advertisements ready to entice the minds of children with delicious foods. Glorying the cheeseburger, for example, by having an extremely good looking size 0 underweight model enticing them with her beauty having them think that if they buy one of those they might look like her. Which is never the case, and is considered false advertising. Eating fast food and having a size 0 is not a reality. The reality is that we have to nourish our bodies. Nourishment is the process of getting food into our bodies and using it as unrefined materials as fuel for energy, vitamins and minerals that keep our body functioning well and healthy.
Young children are especially naive about misleading advertising and don’t begin to understand that advertisements are not always true. By watching how the advertisements attract children people should question if advertising to children is ethical. The way advertisers promote to children, they need to know what makes them happy. With the knowledge of paid psychologists, researchers and, marketers all have access to information about children’s social needs, developmental, and emotional issues. By means of research that analyzes children’s behavior, fantasy lives, creativity, and even their imagination, companies are able to craft stylish marketing strategies to reach children. It is the way that advertising and advertisers do many things, to make money. However in a lot of ways advertisements seem to be unethical, because children do not understand how bad the food could be for their short term and long term health.