4 ms·

I watched a lot of TV and commercials as a young kid on Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Disney channels, commercials ranging from baby dolls, batman and Lego.

I watched a lot of TV and commercials as a young kid on Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Disney channels, commercials ranging from baby dolls, batman and Lego. I wanted a lot of the stuff they showed on TV, and I got gifted a lot, but not everything. I come from a middle class norwegian family which meant that we could afford a lot of toys and stuff, but not everything at once. I don't think it influenced me that much, but I certainly tried to influence my parents to buy the crap which I had seen on TV. In retrospective, I wish my parents had said "no" more to the crap I wanted and received, I didn't need it at all and it was all a matter of my parents saying "no" more.

wutbrodo 9y ago
One of the biggest blessings in disguise for me was not having much money as a child[1]. From the moment we left college, I've made more money than all of my close friends, and I somehow spend the least as well. We've talked pretty openly about income and budgeting as we all entered adulthood and learned our way around personal finance, and it's been fascinating to me to see how wanting to purchase unnecessary things is this vice that my friends consistently struggle with, to varying degrees. I don't have especially good willpower: I just seem to be missing that urge almost entirely. My lifestyle is far from ascetic, but the value bar for making something tempting to buy is just set way higher for me for some reason. I buy everything I feel like; I just don't tend to feel like things unless I think I'll get a lot of enjoyment/value out of them relative to their price. In retrospect, a couple years of disappointment before getting used to my mom saying "no" to most purchase requests was a pretty small price to pay for not constantly struggling against urges to spend irresponsibly.
sytelus 9y ago
It's not about ads making you want stuff, it's about ads setting a frame of reference for your kids. For example, ad for Barbie would may teach kids that looking beautiful is very important. Or ads for bazooka may teach that having and operating guns is fun. Or that simply collecting something is cool. It is not a secret how Disney has ruined lives of countless little girls by continually brainwashing them about being princess whose sole purpose is to look good and attract a prince. They have had massive contribution in turning off little girls from pursuing intellectual endeavors. Ads are teaching your kids what should be desirable and what is good for them.
narrator 9y ago
The worst part about TV commercials for toys is the jingles for the toys are still with me all these years later. I really should be using that part of my brain for something else.

wutbrodo 9y ago

One of the biggest blessings in disguise for me was not having much money as a child[1]. From the moment we left college, I've made more money than all of my close friends, and I somehow spend the least as well. We've talked pretty openly about income and budgeting as we all entered adulthood and learned our way around personal finance, and it's been fascinating to me to see how wanting to purchase unnecessary things is this vice that my friends consistently struggle with, to varying degrees. I don't have especially good willpower: I just seem to be missing that urge almost entirely. My lifestyle is far from ascetic, but the value bar for making something tempting to buy is just set way higher for me for some reason. I buy everything I feel like; I just don't tend to feel like things unless I think I'll get a lot of enjoyment/value out of them relative to their price. In retrospect, a couple years of disappointment before getting used to my mom saying "no" to most purchase requests was a pretty small price to pay for not constantly struggling against urges to spend irresponsibly.

sytelus 9y ago

It's not about ads making you want stuff, it's about ads setting a frame of reference for your kids. For example, ad for Barbie would may teach kids that looking beautiful is very important. Or ads for bazooka may teach that having and operating guns is fun. Or that simply collecting something is cool. It is not a secret how Disney has ruined lives of countless little girls by continually brainwashing them about being princess whose sole purpose is to look good and attract a prince. They have had massive contribution in turning off little girls from pursuing intellectual endeavors. Ads are teaching your kids what should be desirable and what is good for them.

narrator 9y ago

The worst part about TV commercials for toys is the jingles for the toys are still with me all these years later. I really should be using that part of my brain for something else.