IMPACTS OF TV ADS ON CHILDREN

PRATIK RIMAL

Do your children stay glued to the television set, and seldom hear what you say? Every time a difficulty arises, they seem to take a melodramatic stance which you know, is not workable. More often, they complain and argue to have something they see, inside the square television set—loads of junk foods, cosmetic products, toys, and others.



Bhawani Karki, 15, an eighth grader at Davis School, Nilo Pul, shares, “I usually watch reality shows and live programs.” She also watches soap operas if she gets free time. “There’s little time after I complete my school’s assignments. I usually finish my homework at 10 PM, and then, it’s time to sleep,” Karki shares. But she sometimes watches ‘serials’ after completing her assignments for about an hour or half.



“I am not interested on advertisements,” Karki shares. When inquired if she brought things that were displayed on ads, she shares that she has never felt like buying an item just because they are aired on television channels. “The claims advertisements make are doubtful, and I don’t trust them,” Karki shares, adding, “I buy things when I need them, and, not get influenced by adverts.”



Yadav Raj KC, 45 of Pharping is a father of three children. “My daughter usually watches films. Since she and her elder brother have grown up to some extent, they do not demand things shown in advertisements, but my youngest son does,” KC adds. He is worried how his son is in love with junk foods and toys shown in cartoon channels like Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon.



“If I can afford to purchase, I think over it again to see its utility before I buy it,” KC shares, adding how parents are sandwiched between love for their children and their materialistic lifestyle. “We love our children, and they love toys, candies, clothes, shoes, gadgets and countless number of products shown on television. They make a fuss over an item, and we do not like to see them cry. So, I often buy what my children ask for,” Ambika Thapa, 35, shares.



"Nepal and India closely share its values, beliefs, cultures and traditions with each other. Likewise, Indian and Nepali television channels share and reflect same ads, a factor that could reinforce a child’s vulnerability," Sanjeev Pokharel, an anthropologist, opines, "Awareness is the key to fight back with the negative impacts of advertisements."



Furthermore, unethical practices of concerned stakeholders (producers, distributors, weak state policy, and inability of people to filter content, and media) too have their roles in misleading the masses by the advertisements, Pokharel opines. “Awareness doesn’t just restrict to formal education. It also has to do with a person’s exposure level, and their critical thought processing ability,” Pokharel adds, “If we can develop ad awareness, we can safeguard ourselves from the fraudulent behaviors of advertisements.” Pokharel further adds, “A section of the conscious class can only shield from ad impacts, while the general masses, those who are less conscious are highly at risk of being misled,” Pokharel shares.



AD EFFECTS:



Advertisements are visually appealing, and its impacts can be reflected on a person’s lifestyle and consuming pattern. “Junk food and cosmetic products top the list,” Pokharel shares. “While it bankrupts you financially, it also ruins one’s health,” Pokharel adds. However, an ad’s effect isn’t limited only to economy. It also affects the human psychology, and especially, child psychology.



“A basic factor that reflects the effects of advertisements is personality,” Archana Baral, a hypnotherapist shares. “Fair skin children will generally be loved and appreciated by everyone. Such acts result in higher self-esteem. However, "dark skins" tend to have a lower level of self esteem because they are ‘dark’ and not ‘fair’.” Baral adds, "Such incidents increase feeling of negativity amongst children, despite the love and care given by their parents and elders.



By the time a child turns three, s/he starts to learn language, and picks up everything they hear. When a child is too much exposed to television and its advertisements, it results in mature expression, Baral shares. “Such ‘skipped’ growth highly affects a child, and sometimes, could result in regrets in their later life,” Baral adds.



“Moreover, excess view of commercials could alter a child’s growth and could reshape it into those shown in advertisements,” Baral shares, adding, such views can dull a child’s creativity. The age between eight and 14 is considered fertile for creativity.



SOLUTION:



Baral opines that limited exposure to television and its contents, and especially advertisements, could help prevent its impacts. Furthermore, he shares that, parents too should play an important role to help their children get engaged on various other activities besides the tele and other media alike. “Apart from doing so, parents must also show what’s true and what’s false in any form of media content."