Effects of Advertisements on Children

Effects of Advertisements on Children An advertisement makes a consumer aware of available products which can then be used to influence a consumer’s buying behaviour through persuasion using creative content. Advertising to children is often categorised, with food and toys being the products mainly aimed towards them. However, this category is further developing to encompass music, games and technology. Advertising towards children is a large demographic for the marketer, due to them encompassing three different marketing opportunities, they are consumers, influencers on their parent’s buying behaviour and the future. McNeal (1987) suggested that the â€Å"future consumer† provides a larger marketing potential than the current consumer. Due to the marketer being able to create future brand loyal consumers, create brand knowledge and develop purchase behaviour. The marketer seeks to target children through advertising strategies such as the internet. Also advergaming, where a game involves an advertisement for a product. Due to the internet being an integral part of young culture, the marketer attempts to build a relationship between them and the consumer. This is completed through viral advertisements and behavioural targeting. Unlike television, the internet is unregulated and often children are left alone on the internet with no parental supervision. However, the easiest way to advertise to children is through television. Broadcasters Audience Research Board (2011) found that children aged four to nine watched on average seventeen hours of television a week. Furthermore, Smith (2001) found that in the UK two-thirds of children have a television in their bedroom as well as their tablets and mobile phones with online catch up television. One main concern around advertising towards children is whether it exploits them due to the advertisements aim to persuade the vulnerable. This exploitation can be referred to as the â€Å"seducers† upon the â€Å"innocents† as stated by Gunter, Oates and Blades (2005). Young children are unaware about the intent of advertisements as reported by Oates et al. (2003). The knowledge and understanding of advertising develops gradually and children are simply born with no knowledge and understanding â€Å"ready to be evolved and manipulated† as stated by Furnham (2000). Therefore, it is important to establish the different ages at which children achieve a mature understanding of advertisements in order to â€Å"protect† them. In order for children to be able to understand and evaluate advertising Young (1990) stated they must have two processing skills. First the ability to recognise persuasive intent and secondly be able to recognise the difference between an advertisement and a programme. Piaget and Cook (1952) found that a children’s stage in cognition determines their ability to comprehend advertising. They identified four stages of development, sensorimotor (birth to two years), pre-operational (two to seven years), concrete operational (seven to eleven years) and formal operational (eleven to adulthood), with each stage characterised by certain cognitive abilities. Distinguishing an advertisement from a programme is viewed as a vital first stage in understanding advertising as recognised by Gunter and Furnham (1998). It was suggested by Blatt, Spencer and Ward (1972) that children in the preoperational stage are able to distinguish advertisements from programs. They reported that children view advertisements as informative, truthful and entertaining and are not aware of the persuasive intent of advertising. Furthermore, Levin, Petros, and Petrella (1982) found that children as young as three years were able to make this distinction. Which was further supported by Blosser and Roberts (1985) found that by the age of five the majority of children have developed the ability to differentiate between advertisements and programmes. In contrast children in the concrete operational stage have been found to have developed a better understanding as they grow older and are less likely to believe the advertisements. Dorr (1986) found that it is between seven and nine years old that children begin to understand that advertisements are â€Å"trying to get people to buy something†. Smith (2001) found that as children begin to understand persuasive intent they also begin to appreciate the use of several techniques such as celebrity endorsement, choice of words, and tone of voice. Once children have reached ten years old they have developed enough understanding to appreciate the persuasive intent of advertisements as found by Bever et al. (1975). When children can understand the persuasive purpose of the advertisement, they are able to be critical and capable of resisting to change. Although, until children have developed this understanding and the adequate cognitive â€Å"defences† advertisements have a str ong influence on a development and thoughts. Nevertheless, due to children being a large demographic, the marketer takes advantage of their lack of understanding. They do this by designing marketing strategies to satisfy the needs of the children. These are then applied to their advertisements in order to target children effectively. Firstly, â€Å"pester power† meaning children harass their care givers to purchase products for them based on advertising they have seen as stated by Proctor and Richards (2002). The marketer is aware that their advertising produces desires for different products and this has been found to lead to â€Å"pester power† within children. Parker (2001) found that parents in the UK spend more when shopping in supermarkets with their children than without. Pester power can be used over long periods of time with children forming requests and demands in advance for their birthday and Christmas. Crouch (1999) found that children had often instigated their Christmas list before October. This pes tering has been found to lead to family arguments when parents are unable to afford the products or deem them as unsuitable as stated by Atkin (1978). It was reported by Adler et al (1980) that if a parent states that a toy is not appropriate, children with less viewing of advertisements were more likely to listen to their parent than children who had seen the advertisements. This is due to the advertisement enhancing the toy and persuading them it is a necessity. Secondly, techniques such as exaggeration are used by the marketer to further persuade the consumer and enhance their products. Claims such as â€Å"the best† and â€Å"better than† can be subjective and misleading. Bandyopadhyay, Kindra and Sharp (2001) stated that children are unable to recognise such techniques and effectively â€Å"fall† for the misleading information. Below the age of seven, children are more heavily affected by product factors and do not understand that appearances can differ from reality. Young children often believe that a product is exactly as it appears and will fail to realise that the advertisement was created to promote it in the best possible way. However, as Smith (2001) found children from the age of seven start to understand techniques therefore the use of such techniques have to be adapted to different age groups. Martensen and Hansen (2001) reported that children from the age of eight stated advertisements â€Å"cheat† i n that â€Å"things look better in the advertisement than in real life†. This inaccurate image of the product can lead to a negative attitude towards the advertisement and the product. Rossiter (1977) stated that children’s attitude in general towards advertising is negative stating â€Å"advertisements are annoying and they only state the good things and lie about the rest†. What they had seen as truthful and accurate when they were younger is now portrayed to be lying and deceptive. This attitude could further develop their image of the world. They may feel that, what and who they deem as truthful, could be lying and being deceitful making them feel untrustworthy towards others. Additionally, the marketer develops brand awareness and use brand positioning towards children in order to develop future brand loyalty. This is often by using characters from programmes or celebrities to produce a favourable attitude and develop relationships. Brand awareness has been defined by Keller (2003) as the extent to which a consumer can recognise and is familiar with an image of a brand and the qualities associated with it. Anderson and Bower (1974) state that brand awareness can be split into two steps. First step is the cognitive process to enable brand recognition and secondly brand recall, a consumer can recall and describe the brand. Both brand recognition and recall are important when making purchase decisions. Research by Haynes et al (1993) showed that children as young as three can recognise and name brands before they can read and Schmidt (2003) found children as young as six months old can develop mental images of a logo. Furthermore, Hite and Hite (1995) showed that children from the age of two are able to recognise branded products and would choose these over other unbranded alternatives. Children will favour certain brands and products due to the relationship they have formed as children, creating nostalgia, as found by Ji (2002). Knowing this the marketer use their advertising to develop a foundation when children are in their early stages of learning and development. Product advertising emphasises branded products and places importance on purchasing not just a product, but a lifestyle that this product portrays, as stated by Hahlo (1999). If these products are unable to be purchased feelings of discontent and inadequacy develop. Branded advertising promotes undesirable social values, such as materialism. In addition, children are often taught to celebrate events such as Christmas in a commercial manner. Pine and Nash (2002) found that children who watched television asked for more branded presents on their Christmas list. The pressure to buy a particular brand leads to a conformity and can often pressure parents and make them feel guilty. Furthermore, advertising has been criticised for causing health problems within children such as obesity as stated by Dalmeny et al. (2003). A large proportion of advertising aimed at children promote food or drinks. Lewis and Hill (1998) reported almost a third, of advertisements shown to children are based on unhealthy food such as sweets. Galst and White (1976) found a correlation between the recall of food advertisements, requests when shopping and what children eat. Halford et al. (2004) stated that the majority of television advertising is directed towards children eating surgery foods such as sweets and fizzy drinks. Overall, if children are unable to fully understand the intent of advertising they may need â€Å"protecting† from it and the techniques used. Individuals who are against advertising towards children claim that it is unethical. This is due to their lack of cognitive abilities and understanding to resist the advertising messages before the age of seven. It is said to be unethical to advertise to these children under seven until they have developed â€Å"cognitive defences†. In addition, children below the age of seven are unable to distinguish between advertising fantasy and reality in advertisements. Therefore this can distort their view on the world. The internet alone raises many ethical issue. Various internet pages are designed so children are able to avoid adult supervision and then the underage consumer is able to be pressured to purchase products. Furthermore, ethical issues arise in terms of the promotional content such as humour and violence when advertising ga mes. What one consumer might find interesting, fun and funny may be offensive to others and be seen as unethical. However, Furnham (2000) believe that advertising has little effect upon children’s development and learning and that current regulations are sufficient. Proctor and Richards (2002) state that peer pressure, conformity and social factors are more effective and persuasive in creating the desires of a particular product than advertisements. To reduce the effects of advertising and the ethical issues this develops, children should be educated to help them understand the aim of advertising. Furnham (2000) argued teaching children the aim of advertising was more effective than changing regulations that are in place. Children can be taught and further informed about the nature of advertising and discuss products with their parents and other family members. Teaching children can enable them to be an effective consumer at a young age. In addition, parents can help them to understand advertisements motives and the difference between fantasy and reality, thus neutralising some of the powerful messages their children are exposed to. However, relying on parents is limited due to children having their own televisions, tablets and phones. With children having their own technology parents are unable to sit with them, monitor and discuss advertisements. Though, parents are still able to teach and explain advertising intent during sho pping trips or when they request products. However, this is based on the assumption that parents understand the advertising themselves and have the knowledge to teach their children. Overall, it is unrealistic to expect marketing companies to stop their advertising to children due to their consumption power. However, they should do so ethically and be aware of their responsibility as a communicator to children. As several researchers have shown children do not begin to develop understanding until they are seven and therefore advertising should not be shown to children before this age. Although, parents have a duty to protect the vulnerable children and therefore teach their children about advertising intent.

Personality and the Beast Within in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and

Personality and the Beast Within in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Everyone has a dual personality, two sides, good and evil. Robert Louis Stephenson uses the book to explain this, he wanted people to realise that not only Dr Jekyll carries a double personality, but the other characters in the book too. Also the people reading it must see that they too, are a part of this frightening uncontrollable fact, that there is â€Å"the beast within† us all. Stephenson suggests that all gentlemen keep secrets, suppress emotions, desires, and hide their true inner self. In the story Mr. Utterson is a great example of a gentleman (lawyer) needing to suppress his less socially acceptable side for the sake of preserving his respectable standing in society. ‘Though he enjoyed the theatre hadn’t crossed the doors of one for twenty years’†¦ ‘Utterson was austere with himself’. Drinking only alone, having the security of knowing that he is the only person who might witness and therefore judge him, the respected gentleman could appear a little out of control. Mr.Utterson feels that if he indulges in luxuries such as these, he may become too involved and express himself freely, he’s frightened that he could ruin his image and loose his respectable reputation. Mr. Utterson hides his other side whereas Jekyll shows it, by choice or not. Once the theories of scientists such as Charles Darwin, Herbert Spencer and T.H Huxley became known people began to think of the human struggle between good and evil and psychological terms. Ideas such as ‘The theory of evolution’ and the ‘survival of the fittest’, contradicted the teachings of the Old Testament, and lead many people to question Christianity. However many people w... ...cheap area reflecting the lives of Jekyll and Hyde. ‘†¦London, with excursions into low-life neighbourhoods, it too is about appearances and reputations, and involves an individual whom who lives a double life of outward pity and secret corruption. Jekyll uses the ugly deformed Hyde as his body double’†¦ The ‘Beast within’ is studied in this book. The most obvious case of this is within Dr. Jekyll and, Mr Hyde, however it shows in the others too, not only in this book in the whole of civilisation. Once Dr. Jekyll has captured life for a while he is not just one, but two, Hyde is constantly struggling to get out, each fighting for control. Robert Louis Stephenson tried to show that everyone displays a certain threat from their other side, fighting to escape from their desired image and that it is not just apparent in this Gothic novel but within everyone.

The Computer Crime Law in Ireland

Criminal law varies in different countries and temp to deal with computer–related crime. Due to the ever-changing and the sophisticated form of information technology, new type of computer crime surfaces everyday and is threatening the functionality of the system as an asset of a borderless information society. In order to manage and protect this vibrant digital age, new legislation is also put in place to combat these crimes. The existing laws might have been suitable for the old traditional computer crime; the use of a mobile device to denial your keylogg access to your car may have no legal reference in any formal computer crime law. This paper will point out some of the known legislations that exist in Ireland and the EU relating to computer crime, and the awareness in a computer forensic discipline. Introduction With the vast amount of business documents being written on computers, the popular use of email, transaction of business on the internet, computer keep most civil litigation evidence that exist in our present day. It is unimaginable for any business of a sizable scale to function properly, these days, without the use of computer or any form of computing device. Unfortunately, what was designed to help solve almost all problem that exist, (being social networking, e-commerce, entertainment, personal dairy, communication), is posing a great threat to the society that should benefit from it. Imagine a company that buys used cars online and re-sell them to make profits, provides its employees with fast internet access. An employer search through the usual websites and found an interesting car at cheap price, instead of doing the transaction unbehalf of the company, he bought the car for himself. The manager saw him with the car the next day and raised suspicion. He then consulted a forensic investigator to handle the case. Special procedures may have to be carried out during a computer forensic investigation in order that any information gathered is eligible for use in a court of law. The investigation revealed that he used his account to log on to the work computer for the deal during working hours. The investigator found something else, a child pornographic material on his computer. Is this a computer crime? r an abuse of company’s policy? , or something else?. Would the evidence found by an investigator contracted to do one job but did more be accepted in the court, if indicted? Would the Irish Data Protection Act of 1988 protect his secret from prosecution? or face Child Traffic and Pornographic Act 1998? Due to the fact that computer crime is generally new, specialized legislation is in place for some computer and digital specific criminal behaviour, and forensic investigators should be aware of this. The Irish Computer Crime Law The Irish Legislations that are relevant in the area of computer crime are the Criminal Damage Act, 1991, and the recent Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001. The Criminal Damage Act, 1991, Section 2(1) introduced the offence of damage to property, defined as – â€Å"a person who without lawful excuse damages any property belonging to another intending to damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property should be damaged is guilty of an offence†. Property includes data and damage to data includes the addition, alteration, corruption, erasure, or movement thereof, or introduction of a virus therein, which causes damage. It shall be noted that the offence requires the absence of â€Å"lawful excuse† and, in addition, requires the accused to act with intent or recklessness. Summary conviction or on indictment carries different penalties. On summary conviction the penalties are a fine of up to â‚ ¬1,270 or imprisonment for up to 12 months, while on indictment; the penalties are a fine of up to â‚ ¬12,700 or imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both. The 1991 Act introduced a range of offences. Section 3 of the 1991 Act introduced the offence of threatening to damage property and Section 4 introduced the offence of possession of any thing with intent to damage property. Both carry the same penalties as a Section 2 offence Section 5 then introduced the offence of operation of a computer with intent to access data without lawful excuse. The offence is efined as – â€Å"a person who without lawful excuse operates a computer within the State with intent to access any data kept either within or outside the State, or outside the State with intent to access any data within the State, shall whether or not he accesses any data, be guilty of an offence†. The penalties on a conviction offender are a fine of up to â‚ ¬634, or imprisonment for up to 3 months. The recent update in Irish legislation, regarding computer-related crime in Ireland extends the previous Act and introduced the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud) Offenc es Act, 2001. The 2001 Act introduced various new offences into Irish law, most importantly, the Act which appear under Section 9. Section 9 states – â€Å"a person who dishonestly, whether within or outside the State, operates or causes to be operated a computer within the State with the intention of making a gain for himself or herself or another, or of causing loss to another, is guilty of an offence†. This section introduced the concept of â€Å"dishonesty† into Irish computer related crime. The offender can be located either inside or outside the State and is required to act dishonestly, meaning â€Å"without a claim of right made in good faith†. The operation of a â€Å"computer† is required. The ever-increasing development of technology available to commit crime over the internet requires international co-operation beyond ordinary domestic legislation. Section 9 of the 2001 Act, which aim at a person, â€Å"whether within or outside the State†, point out the possibility of jurisdictional issues that comes up, and has allowed the courts to try an offender irrespective of their location at the relevant time. operates† physical machine must be operated from the state or cause to be operated; doesn’t require physical control of the machine, can be remotely controlled outside of the state. Section 9 of the 2001 Act, the presence of intent is required, that could relate to the unauthorised access of another’s computer or, alternative ly, authorised access of a computer for unauthorised purposes bad faith use e. g. DOS. The intention must be to make a gain, whether for himself, or herself, or another, or, alternatively, to cause a loss to another. This carries a more severe offence than existed law under the 1991 Act. An indictable offence that carries a potential fine of unspecified amount, or maximum of 10 years in prison, or both. Privacy and Data Protection Even if the Irish Constitution of 1937 does not clearly state the right to privacy, in the Kennedy & Arnold v Ireland [1987] IR 587, the Irish court recognised the existence of this law. Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides that: †¢ Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and correspondence. †¢ There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. The Irish Data Protection Act 1988 was passed on 13 July 1988, and implemented on 19 April 1989. This Act established the Irish Data Protection Commission. The Irish legislation was updated in 2003 by the Data Protection (Amendment) Act, which incorporates Directive 95/46/EC into Irish law. The law means Data protection is about your fundamental right to privacy. You may access and correct data about yourself, but those who keep data about you have to comply with Data Protection Act. An individual or an organisation that collects stores or processes any data about living people on any type of computer or in a structured filing digital system, found guilty of an offence under the Acts can be fined amounts up to â‚ ¬100,000, on conviction on indictment and/or may be ordered to delete all or part of the database. There are two major sections in 2003 Data Protection amendment; (1) Manual data which are held in filing systems, that is data that is recorded as part of a relevant filing system or with the intention that it should form part of a relevant filing system. (2) Relevant filing system means that the set is structured in such a way that specific information relating to a particular individual is readily accessible

American Journal Reviews of Child and Family Homelessness

Grant, Roy, M.A., et al. Twenty-Five Years of Child and Family Homelessness: Where are we Now? American Journal of Public Health 103.2 (2013): E1-E10. ProQuest. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. Roy Grant, M.A., et al. conducted a review of family and childhood homelessness over a course between a twenty-five year span of the 1980’s to 2013. They reviewed journal articles, government reports, and news stories to find any changes in conditions or the amount of family and childhood homelessness. The review concluded family and childhood homelessness still exists but at a larger scale than in the earlier years and a decrease in the attention given to childhood and family homelessness. They also reported some of the factors leading to family and childhood homelessness were the decline in economic conditions, increase of evictions, economic inequality, and domestic violence. The review also noted a negative impact on a child’s health and well-being and a child’s behavioral health. Rent subsidies and shelter based programs have shown evidence to aid in preventing childhood and family homelessness. They made suggestions to increase nutritional programs as well as health and mental health services. This review supports my claim that homelessness affects children in many ways and the number of homeless children in America is growing. Swick, Kevin J. Responding to the Voices of Homeless Preschool Children and their Families. Early Childhood Education Journal 38.4 (2010): 299-304.Show MoreRelatedVoices From The Street : Exploring The Realities Of Family Homelessness714 Words   |  3 PagesVoices From the Street: Exploring the Realities of Family Homelessness. 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