Writing from last week's video comprehension exercise

Because I sent you the questions and the answer sheet to last week's video comprehension I didn't get a chance to read your thoughts to the final question. Sooooo I'd like you to copy and paste them here for me (or more likely write them for the first time ).

This was the question: 18. In about 150 words give your personal view on advertising targeting children.

I think children’s advertising is not ethical because it’s created problem for kids. Firstly, I find that children spend too much time on my screens and on advertising.
It’s a problem for sociability and personal development. The video explains many negative consequences on children about health, personality and wishes. So marketing should take this into account.
I know that these advertisements have a good effect on sales because children are prescribers. Parents doesn’t check the product before buy and want to make a child happy. They don’t know the bad effects and problems that these products can cause. They do not watch children's advertisements because they are on special media or time slots.
On this aspect the marketing is very clever and efficient. Currently it’s Christmas period, so children’s advertising are more important and children are impatient. These ads can make children dream and spend more parents' money. However the bad effect is not necessary.

For me, advertising, whether it's targeted at adults or even children, wants to convey the same message. To make a product known and give the future buyer want to buy it.
Advertising aimed at children is not negative for me, but it can become so if children are too connected and watch too much of it. With new technologies, children spend a lot of time on computers or tablets. They can very quickly be influenced by young influencers such as "Neo and Swan" or the famous "Ryan Kaji" who unboxe games and toys. If only there were only advertisements on computers and tablets it would be very simple because it would be enough to reduce the amount of time children spend on them. However, there are also advertisements on television, especially on children's channels to reach the main target. This is why I think it is important to reduce the amount of time children spend in front of the screens. Especially during the Christmas period because there are more advertisements for toys. I still think that every child is different, advertising doesn't reach children in the same way, some will be understandable and some will not.

I think that advertising these days is too far focused on profit rather than on the real added value that their product will provide to children. As we studied in class with Mrs DE LA VILLE, children don't perceive in advertising the influence it can have and don't understand until they are around 10 years old the fact that advertisements are trying to coax them. Music, colours and humour are the things that children actually remember from an advertisement.
I think that companies should have a more moral and caring side towards children in order to make them become more responsible and informed consumers in the future on different subjects such as obesity,addiction to games...
There are some rules and laws on advertising to children but I think they should be more developed or at least be more protective for the child.
Finally, the first people who can really protect their children from abusive advertising are their parents. Indeed, by limiting the time spent in front of screens like TV or phones they limit the number of advertising seen by children.

In my opinion, using advertising is a good idea but it’s very difficult to show this to a young public because children are obsessed by screens and they always want what they see on TV, Social Network… They need to adopt the same thing that they see because if TV show this it’s because it’s a very good thing. So children always want more than they have. Furthermore, they’re exposed from screen and in front of a truth which is that of the marketers and which therefore does not represent a generality. They need to learn some rules to understand this ad, it’s not always true and not always like they think.
Finally, I think this children need to be more educated about advertising and as Josh said in video, grow up to be citizens first and consumers later. Because, sooner or later, we all end up being consumers.

For me advertising to children is not necessarily a bad thing. We know that today children are more and more exposed to these advertising messages with all the digital tools available to them. (TV, Ipad, interactive tablet).
The problem today is that companies are mainly and above all looking for profit. The world of communication has understood the issue of children by using them in a lot of advertising. Whether it be advertisements for toys, sweets, drinks, etc., children's interests are at stake. They are constantly put in situations so that they can protect themselves. In several texts read on this subject, we see that children quickly develop the ability to understand advertising messages. They are easy targets, who do not have all the tools to protect themselves from the messages. Companies know that children are a great source of influence in the home. Children know how to ask for or influence their parents' purchases. We can add that children are also used in advertisements for adults, car advertising etc.

In my opinion, the children’s ads is bad for them because it don’t learn the good consummation. It learn addict consummation like fast-food ads.
Children need to be shown the difference between (fictitious) advertising and reality. As said in the video, it should that parents watch the ads with them and ask and answer questions for example “what is the ad trying to do ?”.
On another side, advertising can be used for to show the real value of products and maybe create awareness of the value for money. But for this, children need the presence of an adult.

Associations and campaigns exist to make parents aware of the dangers. These organizations try to privilege relationships with children rather than relations with screens which are more and more present and earlier and earlier in their life.

I think toy ads use too much prejudice : Little boys play cars, football, fights, while little girls play with dolls, cook, take care of a baby. I think this does not show the right values. Today gender equality is a very important subject and this kind of advertising does not help to change mentalities.

Moreover, there is almost no co-education, in the advertisements girls play with girls and boys play with boys. These behaviours can be reproduced at school, in playgrounds etc. Children should be taught to play together, to play the same games regardless of their gender.

Today, with the internet, children are even more exposed to advertising (Tablet, Smartphone, Computer). I think that brands should be careful with the messages they want to convey. A child should not be categorized by gender. A child, regardless of gender, is a child.

I think that children's advertising can be bad in some cases because, for 2-year-olds, it is not preferable that they are already in front of screens at a young age. Indeed, I think that screens can be bad for them in terms of socialization (as said in the audio), with others, for their concentration etc. Children who have been in front of the screens very early in their lives are going to spend more time on the screens because, before that, tablets didn't exist, so the question didn't arise. The advertisements made on the screens of young people will lead them to buy something with a screen etc etc. It's a vicious circle and I don't think they need it (there are other ways to have fun).
At the age of 12, screens can intervene in their lives (beginning of adolescence) with cell phones in college and they will see it throughout their young lives. So I do not approve of advertising aimed at young children.

In my opinion, in contrary to adults, kids have something really precious and important to their brain's : innocence. And this is innocence should be preserved and kids' advertising looks like a danger for them. Advertising's kids are so simple , uncreative, boring and practicing manipulation, is not ethical, and dangerous for our next generation. With really we want to show ? the reality of who have the most and if you want to living a nice life you should buying a lt, showing all of your stuff...
There are a lots of limits and companies ar'nt respecting values, ethics and kids brains.

I find this subject very interesting because in the end we may have to do this later. I couldn't speak for myself because I didn't watch TV when I was little (except "Midi les Zouzous" and the fires of love at my nanny's) so I don't know if it influences our childhood or not?
All I know is what I was taught in class and according to studies, children see it as entertainment and not really as advertising. So one side of me is like, "ok, so it's just a show, nothing more", it's a job like any other, we just give a little bit of "magic" to these kids. And on the one hand that's it, but to want to commercialize everything up to our innocence as children, where are we going? What are the limits we should not cross?
I know that on my side, if I have a child, I will try to instill certain things in him, such as being wary of this kind of thing. That's what I'm saying now, but it may be that when I see his eyes light up in front of an advertisement, whatever it is, I won't say anything and let him believe in these tricks like they make him believe in Santa Claus, but as he grows up I will make him "come down" to Earth and teach him the mechanisms behind magic.