Media is said to be the fourth
pillar of state, and it plays its influential role on its audience. Most of the
content is targeted to youth. Yet media has certain responsibilities on its
shoulder & it influence us like anything, it has tremendous effects on us or
saying “on our minds” will not be wrong…
Kids are said to be the mirror. They do what they see in their routine like in
cartoon, movies etc. They are said to be the future of Pakistan. Now a days it
is being observed that young generation lacks norms and values and morality. And
the reason, somehow, is mass media. The result of a research from the American
Psychological Association (APA) shows that children under the age of eight are
unable to critically comprehend on-screen advertising messages and are likely to
accept advertiser messages as truthful, accurate and unbiased. This can lead to
unhealthy eating habits as evidenced by today’s youth obesity epidemic. The
market for children’s products and food is enormous. Parents on the one hand
have a hard time raising children the way they want to, while on the other hand,
kids are being increasingly influenced by commercialism that often goes against
what parents are trying to do. With such constant bombardment of images of what
beauty, perfection etc. are all supposed to be, it is no wonder that many
related health issues are increasing in younger children, from anxiety and
stress to eating disorder.
Young people in particular are vulnerable to a lot of influences from all
angles. It differs according to its intended audience, so that, for example,
advertising aimed at children raises some technical and moral issues
significantly different from those raised by advertising aimed at competent
adults.
Advertising also has an indirect but powerful impact on society through its
influence on media. Many publications and broadcasting operations depend
on advertising revenue for survival. This often is true of religious media as
well as commercial media. For their part, advertisers naturally seek to reach
audiences; and the media, striving to deliver audiences to advertisers, must
shape their content.
Just as the media of social communication themselves have enormous influence
everywhere, so advertising, using media as its vehicle, is a pervasive, powerful
force shaping attitudes and behavior in today's world.
The field of advertising is extremely broad and diverse. In general terms, of
course, an advertisement is simply a public notice meant to convey information
and invite benefaction or some other response. As that suggests, advertising has
two basic purposes: to inform and to persuade, and — while these purposes are
distinguishable — both very often are simultaneously present.
Advertisers are selective about the values and attitudes to be promoted and
encouraged, promoting some while ignoring others. Frequently it deliberately
appeals to such motives as envy, status seeking and lust.
At a time of widespread and unfortunate confusion about moral norms, the
communications media have made violence accessible to a vastly expanded
audience, including young people and even children, and a problem which at one
time was confined mainly to wealthy countries has now begun, via the
communications media, to corrupt moral values in developing nations.
In cases of the second sort, advertising sometimes is used to promote products
and inculcate attitudes and forms of behavior contrary to moral norms
People are getting materialistic day by day. They are losing norms n values and
their culture and traditions.
Advertising is a massive, that's having an enormous impact on youngster
development, "The sheer volume of advertising is growing rapidly and invading
new areas of childhood, like our schools." the result is not only an epidemic of
materialistic values among children, but also something is called "narcissistic
wounding" of children. The commercial world has an increasing impact on children
and it is time that both businesses and governments take this seriously.