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Having ads targeted at children can be seen as a good thing: it trains the children in what advertising is like, about how they can be manipulated and exploited
by pfdietz 2y ago
Having ads targeted at children can be seen as a good thing: it trains the children in what advertising is like, about how they can be manipulated and exploited. It's good for them to get this experience while young when the stakes are low.
Of course, this might also train children to be the exploiters and manipulators. Maybe their parents would think that's a good thing too, at least in the long run.
- thfuran 2y agoWouldn't it be better to remove exploitation and manipulation than to subject children to it in the hopes that it somehow makes them resistant to more of it later?
- pfdietz 2y agoI don't see how that would work.
- thfuran 2y agoIf the reason that you think it's good to allow advertising to children, despite it being bad in and of itself, is that it prepares them to be subjected to ads as an adult, wouldn't it be better to instead remove the ads for adults as well?
- pfdietz 2y agoAds serve a useful function, particularly if one can filter out deception.
- Nasrudith 2y agoTo be frank thus sounds like a replay of purity idealism about shielding kids from anything even remotely connected to sex. Not being capable of manipulation or exploitation or dealing with them would be rightfully classified as a severe social disability.
- ndriscoll 2y agoPersonally, I plan to prepare my kids by keeping them away from as many sources of advertising as possible and teaching them how to do the same when they're older. e.g. they're completely unaware of the existence of anything Disney-related.
- galkk 2y agoDo you have kids now? I was in the same boat (try to avoid any branded toys etc), but it’s just impossible, unless you avoid any socialization. I see that on the example of Frozen. Kids in daycare, wearing Elsa dresses. Kids in playgrounds, wearing same dresses. Backpacks, t-shirts with sisters from Frozen… unfortunately, that battle seems to be lost already. Huge bookshelves at book stores with books with Taylor Swift.
- ndriscoll 2y agoMy wife stays at home and we may end up homeschooling, so with any luck we'll be able to filter peers some. Right now they're still young, but cartoon brand shirts on kids at the playground don't register because they have no idea what e.g. Frozen is. It's just a girl or a snowman or whatever.