I would like to host a little bit of a debate to get a general consensus on how everyone feels about advertisements (television, posters billboards etc) being shown to young children. I would also like to express my rhetoric on the subject, I apologize in advance for the bias.

I began to ponder one day during work after reading some of A Brave New World by Aldous Huxeley on my break. I imagined how different my perception of society would be if I was not conditioned to accept society as it is. I mean, for example during the French Revolution, people born in that chaotic time thought of it as the norm (France during that time was...Violent and very extreme...)

But not only that, would corrupt food chains like McDonalds even exist if people didn't get conditioned to eat there in the first place? (Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I am a McDonalds employee xD) Anyways, my question is this: How do you feel about people from a young age being conditioned by both bad parenting and advertising in Television to eat fast food and fall into line in society. Is it really normal for all the propaganda to exist in a society? I mean ffs if it was a picture in a different country of their leader, it would be called brainwashing! What is the difference?

I say that especially since in America, aren't we supposed to believe in things like personal freedom and straying away from the oppression/brainwashing outside world? We escaped tyranny, only to fall into the hands of inescapable advertisement?

I'm not entirely sure what exactly you're asking, but here are my thoughts on some of the things you've mentioned.

I don't believe advertising can actually brainwash you into buying their products (and subliminal messages are also nonsense), but mainly remind you of a products existence (i.e. brand awareness), and inform you of the product.

For the most part, advertising only has a small impact on people, for example, there are some people that eat junk food, and others than eat healthily, even though they are exposed to the same adverts.
Also, there has been a dramatic drop in the advertising of cigarettes, but the sales haven't had a similar dramatic drop.

But one problem though, is false advertising, or rather, how they imply something that isn't true, without actually stating it.

So over all, I'd say that advertising is fine, most of the problems you've attributed to advertising, have larger contributing factors elsewhere.

Well, you first have to imagine how different the world would be if it were not covered with advertisements, if you look at North Korea or many many many other instances of brainwashing you must be able to admit that advertisements have to have at the very least a subtle impact on a child or even adults brain.

Everything we do or learn about whether it be false or true information, creates new neural pathways in our brain creating memory. Therefor, advertisement has to have an effect on a childs brain especially those still in vital development stages.

So are you saying it is acceptable or it is unacceptable but such a minuscule issue that we really don't need to be worrying ourselves over it in this point in society?

Bump

The reason that North Korea is like that, is not because of brainwashing, but because they punish anyone who steps out of line.
And I have seen the world (well, my country at least) both before and after cigarette advertisements were banned, and there still seem to be just as many people about who smoke.


Yes, but that effect is minimal, considering the other influences on a child's development (e.g. friends/other children, teachers, parents/family, actual experience/taste [all the advertising in the world wont get a kid to eat their vegetables ]).


The concept of advertising is fine.
The content could be an issue, but it seems to be fairly well regulated in our current society.

According the smoking example, you are completely wrong. The only kids that smoke anymore are the ones that are stupid enough to still think its cool (no offense to anyone that does) but I'm a high school student and it is completely un-cool to smoke cigs. Weed is a whole different story, but then again we are beginning to become a pro-pot culture since most things on Television really do support the liberal agenda when it comes to legalization.

Also, if tobacco were popular on its own simply because it is so awesome to smoke cigarettes why wasn't it as cool before they were distributed to the military and before massive advertisement campaigns?

What about McDonalds? It isn't the best fast food, it isn't really the cheapest, yet it is the most popular. Why? Because of their massive advertising.

Also, with liberalism becoming more and more popular you need to look at why: Is it really peoples opinions changing on their own, or is it due to the media?

What about religion? If you are Atheist you probably believe Religion was the biggest brainwashing story of all time, yet it still thrives and why? Because it was the most accepted thing in society to belong to a religion, until of course now where science is becoming a much bigger part in our daily lives.

But my point is this: Your surroundings effect you much more than you believe they do, so knowing this do advertisements even though they pose a mediocre threat to a child's developing mind, aren't they still criminal?

What I've observed suggests otherwise. And places that see it as 'uncool' generally had the same view before the advertising ban, making that point fairly moot anyway. But I'm talking more in general, than just specifically kids in this example.


Uh, it was, that's why they had those huge tobacco plantations in the americas since the 17th century. Advertising wasn't about making it 'cool' or such, but so that people would buy brand X instead of brand Y.



While I agree that it's popularity amongst fast food can be credited to advertising, it is still only amongst 'fast food', i.e. without the advertising, people wouldn't be eating healthily instead, they'd just be going to other fast food places (burger king, KFC, etc.).



I think it is because of the media, but probably not in the same way you do, i.e. the media portray the population as far more overly liberal than they actually are.


Religion can be completely independent from science though.
And no, I don't think religion as a concept is brainwashing, it's just a way to try and explain the unexplainable, and some factors may actually be beneficial to mental health.


Even though your surroundings do effect you, advertisements make up far less than 1% of you surroundings, interactions, experiences etc.
And it's not just the amount of time, but also the level of impact.
For example, it's been scientifically proven that violent videogames don't create violent kids (even if they play for hours every day), but kids who experience violence personally actually are more likely to become violent themselves.
Advertising is just a low-impact experience, compared to the high-impact experience of enjoyment of the food(or whatever is being advertised), and peer consensus (i.e. it being 'cool').