The present world is witnessing dramatic competition in the business arena due to the increasing number of private organizations. To overcome this competition, companies are spending huge amounts on publicity, trying to attract more public. This advertising has not left targeting even children, resulting in a great impact on young minds. This is possibly due to the fact that children can be motivated easily, as they are innocent and cannot analyze the pros and cons of a product or an issue. Moreover, visual media, a television, in particular, has a greater role in this as many children spend hours watching televisions and effective advertising through this media potentially influences their immature thoughts. Though this kind of aggressive advertising may earn profits for organizations, questions of morality arise due to the possible effects of this scenario.
It is obvious that young kids do not have reasoning ability, and they just believe whatever they see. This is the basic reason for companies to aim their advertising at kids. If a product is advertised in an attractive manner to children with eye-catching visuals and sweet dialogues, they lean automatically towards that product. They may not even know whether that product is useful to them or not. Some kids even go stubborn to get what they want. It becomes impossible to change their tender minds and convince them. This turns into a positive point for companies as this immature stubbornness makes elders fulfill the wishes of their children willingly or unwillingly. However, it seems that companies are not concentrating on the negative impacts of aggressive advertising. The possible implications in respect to the financial position of parents and the effects of the advertised product on children raise concern over this kind of publicity. Society is a blend of people with different financial backgrounds, but television has become a common item in almost every family. Thus, advertisements in general, through television in particular, influence all kinds of children in society. As children do not have the ability to adjust to their family position, it becomes a burden for parents to buy the items their children want and please them. For example, if the child asks for a costly toy, the financial condition of the parent may not permit to fulfill that wish. The worst consequences of this situation can be a frustrated child with hatred of parents, financial distress to elders, among others. Moreover, when this frustration of children grows beyond limits, it may impede their mental condition. The affected child may grow with a feeling of self-intimidation or hatred of society.
The health consequences for children are also important to consider. Most of the food products that have been advertised are rich in carbohydrates and cholesterol. These foods generally lack adequate fiber content. By consuming these items, health problems may start at a younger age. The range of health problems includes constipation, obesity, and even heart problems. Seven years or even younger kids do not even come under the proper school age group to learn, at least by chance, about human health and a healthy diet. The child only knows what to want but doesn’t understand the effects. Moreover, the nominal physical exercise at that age is not sufficient to burn the carbohydrate and fat content that the child may consume with these fast foods. Also, candies and soft drinks, which amount to most of the ads aimed at children, deteriorate health in many ways. Consuming carbohydrate-rich products results in tooth decay, and children face dental problems from a relatively earlier age. When the stomach gets filled with these useless foods, there will be no space for taking a regular healthy diet. The child prefers show-type and delicious foods to a properly balanced diet. This can lead to obesity, which is an inviting condition for many health problems.
Another important consequence is the impact on a child’s attitude and overall development. Nowadays, children have access to various cartoon shows and movies. Being unable to judge between good and bad, they easily get fascinated by whatever is shown in an attractive manner and even try to imitate that. Products based on these shows have a greater impact on kids’ attitudes, as they give them direct chances to imitate their favorite characters. But when it results in the expression of violent action or adventure, the life of the child may be in danger. Furthermore, these childhood tendencies play a major role in the psychological development of the child. It may result in spoiling a kid towards a self-centered, aggressive and unsociable personality. Nurturing children is a big task for parents, and exposure of kids to exaggerated advertisements further complicates their task. If a child is distracted from good habits at such a tender age, it becomes difficult to bring them back on the right track due to their immature tendencies.
All in all, though competition and other business interests are understandable, companies cannot show them as reasons to defend themselves against moral concerns. It is their responsibility to consider the immediate and long-term effects of their advertising techniques. This is particularly important when kids are involved either directly or indirectly. Too much highlighting of a potentially harmful product not only impedes the health and development of children but also creates problems for parents. Lack of stringent regulations in this regard is also a cause for this over the publicity of products. As a result, children are suffering unknowingly at the receiving end. Any advertisement that is a threat to the child’s physical and psychological development should be condemned on at least moral grounds.