Television Advertising and Children Book

Advertising is usually seen as undesirable in Western society because it employs techniques that bypass rational processes, and children are perceived as being particularly vulnerable to the appeal of advertisements because they have not yet developed defenses against such persuasion. In this book Brian Young examines the issues raised by this problem. He clarifies the basic concepts involved, looks at the history of children and advertising, covering in particular the extensive discussion and research taking place in the U.S., analyzes what children in the U.S. and Britain actually watch, and assesses their ability to interpret advertisements and understand their aims. Constructing a psychology of the development of advertising literacy, Young concludes that intervention directed toward helping the child rather than regulating advertisements should be encouraged and that specially designed consumer programs could help to improve children's understanding of ads and enhance their ability to distinguish them from other television they watch.