Children and advertising: A study on advertising understanding and effects on children

Abstract

This study explores how children understand television advertising and it concentrates on how differently each child responds according to his/her age (6 to 11 years old). It is essential to mention that 36 focus groups were selected. The results showed that all 6 years old children spend most of their free time watching television. Therefore, it has been observed that young children find difficulty to distinguish advertising from the other TV programs. Older children (7 to 11 years old) could easily distinguish advertisements from programs. When children grow up, they increasingly comprehend television advertisements. It becomes clear that children are confused regarding the source of television advertisements. More particularly, it is more confusing for younger children between 6-8 years old. On the contrary, older children who are 10 and 11 years old were able to state who pays in order for advertisements to appear on TV. Moreover, this study examines the effect of advertising on children from the age of 6 to 11 years old. It becomes obvious that advertisers concentrate on children because they have no the emotional or cognitive experience to evaluate effectively the products that they advertise. While TV is a way to transmit knowledge and education at the same time it may also be harmful due to the bad effects it has upon children. In this particular study it has been found that children affect the purchasing decisions of their parents. Furthermore, the results show that if parents refuse to fulfil their children’s desire they react by complaining. This often results to conflicts between children and parents.