Ads

Okay, we all agree that we're tired of political advertisements, but as soon as the election is over we'll be swamped with Christmas ads. Some of those are already showing up.

But ads aren't only a nuisance, they can be dangerous to children.

I once read about a scientific study that showed most young kids believe everything they see in ads is true. Because of being bombarded with commercials, children not only want the products, but they accept the social stereotypes portrayed as accurate.

And they may even try to demand the products they see advertised and loose respect for their parents if they don't get them.

Of course we know too much watching of TV, videos, and playing games can desensitize kids to violence and cut down on the time spent in social communication.

So what can parents do about all these problems?

Obviously the first thing is to cut down on the time children, especially young ones, are exposed to the media. When parents work and have others to care for it can be difficult to make time for family activities, but it's important to make that a priority.

And when kids are watching TV parents can make it a habit to comment on the untrustworthiness of commercials. Parents might even borrow their kids gaming devices, play a game or two, then discuss what's good and bad about them.

And while we're getting all the political ads maybe we should remind ourselves not to believe everything we see.

Commercials

I've heard people make positive comments about the Superbowl Commercials, but ads are still ads. Back in the 1950s TV shows might have five minutes of commercials every hour. Now it seems like there are at least 15 minutes of ads during of every half hour. Well, almost.

Are you old enough to remember subliminal advertising? I think that was during the 1970s when ads were shown to have subtle messages meant to infiltrate people's brains.

In a way, all ads are almost a form of hypnosis, intended to sink into our subconscious minds. Even (or maybe especially) the irritating ones keep the brand names in our memories, making it more likely that we'll buy the products.

I've read that young children usually believe everything they see in commercials. Even some adults are naive enough to believe them.

And I hate the way ads for prescription meds (which I don't think should be advertised anyway) play soothing music while listing horrible possible side effects quickly and more quietly than the rest of the commercial.

Long ago people predicted that someday we'd pay for TV service so there wouldn't need to be anymore commercials but now we must pay for the privilege of watching the ads.

In the Sci-Fi novel 1984 by George Orwell governments beamed propaganda into people's homes. That sounds a lot like todays political commercials to me. Ads are probably the main factor determining who wins elections now.

At least I understand it's becoming illegal for the ads to be louder than the programs, so it will be possible to leave the room during commercials without hearing them. That should help a little bit.