Advertising and Health Related Criticisms

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Jonathan Simmons Kip Wotkyns Intro to Journalism & Mass Media December 10, 2012 Term Paper Advertising and Health Related Criticisms Everywhere we go, everywhere we look, we, as a society, are inundated with messages that suggest how to look, what to wear, what to eat, and basically how to live our lives. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the power of advertisement. The definition of “good advertising” is promoting a product, to the point of making the consumer feel as if it is more of a necessity than an option. This technique is more than visible when looking at advertisements aimed toward children and young adults through a myriad of media types ranging from television, to radio, to the seemingly all powerful, world wide web. For instance, though many parents and guardians look at advertisements as something as simple as a commercial promoting a certain industry, an adolescent may look at it as a possible change in lifestyle. Believe it or not, since its inauguration, advertising is thought by many critics to be the leading cause of health problems among our youth, ultimately causing illnesses such as eating disorders, tobacco consumption, alcohol abuse, and the misuse of prescription drugs. In this day and age, more often than not, young adults, particularly women, are influenced by the media’s standards of beauty in our culture. A long term trend in advertising is the association of certain products with extremely thin, almost skeleton-like female models, promoting a sense of “attractiveness” that young women are encouraged to imitate. When taking a closer look, it is evident that many modern day forms of fashion and cosmetics play on both the insecurities as well as low self-esteem of the individual, by promising the ideal bodily image. Often times however, advertising companies back their claims with bogus testimonials that frequently lead
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