Children Are Vulnerable to Advertising

Controversial television advertising that is marketed toward children and teenagers requires regulation to protect them against harmful influences. Unhealthy habits, materialism, and obesity are just a few of the ways that advertising influences negatively affect them. Children are especially vulnerable targets of advertising, so it is important that parents as well as the government work together to regulate what is seen and heard in the daily lives of children.

How do children view the advertising messages and influences that they see everyday? The earlier the child is exposed to advertising the more likely they are to be influenced by it. Research shows that children under the age of eight are unable to critically comprehend televised advertising messages and are prone to accept advertiser messages as truthful, accurate and unbiased. "Because younger children do not understand persuasive intent in advertising, they are easy targets for commercial persuasion," said psychologist Brian Wilcox, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center on Children, Families and the Law at the University of Nebraska and chair of the task force.