Thursday 15 March 2012

Media and Advertising

This is an extremely lengthy article, and is too large to post in its entirety. Here are some excerpts from the article that I found to be important.

"Ever since mass media became mass media, companies have naturally used this means of communications to let a large number of people know about their products. There is nothing wrong with that, as it allows innovative ideas and concepts to be shared with others. However, as the years have progressed, the sophistication of advertising methods and techniques has advanced, enticing and shaping and even creating consumerism and needs where there has been none before, or turning luxuries into necessities. This section introduces some of the issues and concerns this raises."


For example, young people — girls in particular — are often bombarded with imagery of the “perfect” bodies. Younger minds are more malleable and impressionable, so even when it may be known that these images are manipulated, the constant message everywhere a young person turns says the same thing: this is how you should look and behave and something must be wrong if you are not achieving these (unrealistic) expectations of perfection.
As such it can contribute to anxieties and stress when growing up and even last into adulthood.


 In December 2011, Extreme Tech reported that the American advertising industry’s self-regulating watchdog, the National Advertising Division (NAD), has moved to ban the misleading use of photoshopping and enhanced post-production in cosmetics adverts. (Extreme Tech also added that this brings it closer in line with regulations in the UK and European Union.)

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