Day 226: Please! Stop with the Advertising!!!

 

 

It is everywhere – Ads have managed their way into almost every part of our daily lives. When I Was a kid the only Ads I saw was on TV. Most of my free time was spent playing outside so when we were young were not bombarded with the magnitude of Ads people see today.

We do not have a TV anymore, but I still see plenty ads everyday even though I live on a farm. When I turn on my radio in the car – There are Ads. As I drive through town – There are Ads. When I am on Facebook – there are Ads. When I look at news on the Internet – There are Ads. When I do a Google Search – There are Ads. When I download a free app for my phone – There are Ads. Checking emails – Spam Ads. Receiving SMS – Spam Ads.

It’s really getting out of hand. As a kid when I went to watch a movie on the big screen the only Ads they showed were future releases of movies. Now there are all kinds of Advertisements before the movie even starts. They are even Advertising in Schools! On School buses, in gymnasiums, on book covers, and even in bathroom stalls.

“School advertising also appears under the guise of educational TV: Channel One. Currently available in 12 000 schools, Channel One consists of 10 minutes of current-events programming and 2 minutes of commercials. Advertisers pay $200 000 for advertising time and the opportunity to target 40% of the nation's teenagers for 30 seconds.⁸⁹ According to a recent government report, Channel One now plays in 25% of the nation's middle and high schools⁸¹ and generates profits estimated at $100 million annually.^{89” - http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/118/6/2563.full}

Sneaky – Very Sneaky. Now a days when a child has the ability to hold a cellular device or tablet they are exposed to many, many advertisements. That’s children as young as 2 or 3 years old that are already being targeted al for companies to make profit. And Advertisements have become extremely effective over the years – you see it and you are like “YES – I NEED THAT”, but you did not need it before you watched the Ad.

The problem is that children and people are not educated on how Advertising works – How it plays the emotions and feelings and how it actually directs you to do what the ad tells you to. Before you can do that you need to understand how emotions and feelings direct you and to see how you are actually not the one who directs your life. How do you do that? Find out in my next blog.