HOMEWORK #29 Merchants of Cool

Question: Should advertising to young people be banned? Up to what age? Or all ages?

I think that advertising to young people (specifically teenagers) is a very smart and tricky trap that we all fall into. Companies and corporations make most of there money from people like us. We just worry about being cool so we will buy what we see being marketed as "the newest and coolest thing". Advertising is what seems to bring markets the most money, but i think it could be very harmful and destructive as well. At a young age we see things we want and we all become consumers at a disturbingly Young age whether we know it or not. If its not your money being spent its your parents (they buy for you what you tell them you like, you only know about it because its being advertised on one way or another).

Especially for our generation is it getting harder and harder (almost near impossible) to avoid advertisements. Because our society is taught to judge more on appearance/class and status the most we desire what we see out there that is "cool". Any teenage would rather go to school everyday sporting the latest name brand clothes than handy me downs. Advertising agency's make money off the dumbed down and ruthless consumers which is the majority of American population. Growing up children don't learn from there parents any better because it seems to be that they are just as sucked in as there kids. If you don't ever have someone telling you "no" don't do something you will never learn that its wrong.

I believe uninvolved parents are part of the reason why children see so many advertisements, from personal experience I never really remember my parents putting a limit to my television or computer time. I know they tired and talked about cutting it down probably about 20 times, it would be enforced for a day then the old routine would start up again. I can only imagine how many other American family's household was similar to mine. Although i think that parents have the ability to monitor the amount of advertisements their children see at home, i think it is almost completely out of there hand when they walk the busy streets of the outside world. Kinda makes me think if teenagers from an urban (city) style life see more advertising outside than ones from the suburbs? Are our values the same?

Some advertising is more harmful than others, the tobacco industry is a major one that comes to mind. They spend so much money on sending out the message that smoking is "cool" they endorse movie stars, organize ad campaigns and commercials that all make it look like a positive thing. Now you know they must spend a lot of money to try and make smoking look "cool".

In class the other day with our special guest speak Matt Fried young people's ultimate search to be cool is because they lacked the attention they needed growing up, they never felt very accepted as a child growing up. Everyone wants to be loved and accepted by there family most of all, if your not a hit with them i can only imagine how much harder people must work to impress the other people in their life example) their friends.

I think advertising is very dangerous but also very hard, almost impossible to avoid...