University English Assignment: Advertisements' Influence on Teenagers

This essay examines the impact of advertisements on teenagers, a vulnerable demographic heavily targeted by marketing campaigns. The introduction highlights the prevalence of advertisements in various formats, including online platforms, and acknowledges both the advantages and disadvantages of advertising. The essay explores the negative effects of advertisements, particularly those promoting alcohol, tobacco, and unrealistic body images, and their potential to influence teenagers' behaviors and perceptions. It also discusses the positive aspects, such as the promotion of life-saving drugs and technological advancements. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of parental guidance and education in helping teenagers understand and critically evaluate advertisements. The essay includes references to relevant academic sources, providing a comprehensive analysis of the subject matter.

Running head: ENGLISH ASSIGNMENTS
English Assignments
Name of the Student:
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2ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT
Introduction
In the modern day scenario advertisements is one of the most important means by which
the companies reach out to people. It is a known fact that each and every company or brand has
to promote their products to their targeted audience through the means of advertisements (De
Mooij 2018). These advertisements are usually done in three formats; they are television,
outdoor and transit. In this modern scenario, most of the teenagers have smartphones, i-pads,
laptops, and other such smart digital objects. As a result of this, the teenagers can see many
advertisements are internet in the online mediums. Just as there are several advantages of
advertisements at the same time, there are also several drawbacks.
Advertisements – a concerning fact for teenagers
This is a concerning fact as most of the teenagers are at a very sensible and vulnerable
age. At this point in time, whatever they see around them affects their minds and their actions in
a huge way. So, it is surely a very alarming fact that some of the advertisements might create
some negative effects on their minds. Some of these advertisements can be the ones that feature
the brands of alcohols, tobacco or other such addictive materials.
The teenagers get attracted to these products and feel that they also need to consume the
products. Most of the advertisements that deal with tobacco and alcohols are featured in such a
way that people who consume alcohol or cigarettes have a very hero like appearances and are
valued within society. So, it is for this reason that the teenagers feel the need for consuming
these materials.

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Negative aspects of advertisements
The most concerning fact is that teenage is such a vulnerable age (Moffitt 2017). It is
during this age that individuals usually get carried away and they do not really know how to
differentiate between that what is wrong and what is right. They feel that they are doing the right
thing (Farrelly et al. 2015). On top of that, there is also some pornographic content shown in
some advertisements. Apart from this, there are some advertisements that show the
objectification of the female or the male bodies.
In other words, a garment company or an apparel brand will be projecting some very
stylish women in ultra slim bodies. This might instigate the teenage girls to stop eating and
starve themselves on a strict diet to get such a body that the model had in the advertisement.
Some cosmetic brands like that of Nivea or other brands might embrace the fair complexion as
the best. This might have a very bad effect on the girls having a dark complexion. They might
start looking at themselves with hatred and might also harm themselves.
Positive aspects of advertisements
However, there are also several good aspects of advertisements as well. Several medical
companies advertise many life-saving drugs through the advertisements. This might help people
to know about the medicines and their uses (Chainey and Stephens 2016). Many of the
advertisements are about modern technological tools and up gradations that are being launched
all around the world. This is immensely important as it helps the individuals in keeping
themselves updated.

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Conclusion
So, it is the duty of the parents, caregivers, teachers, and others to make sure that they are
keeping a strict eye upon the kinds of advertisements that their teen kids are getting attracted to.
They have to help out their kids in understanding the good and the bad in these advertisements.
They have to make sure that the teenagers are being able to understand the pros and cons of these
advertisements.

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References
Chainey, T.A. and Stephens, C., 2016. ‘Let’s get wasted’: A discourse analysis of teenagers’ talk
about binge drinking. Journal of health psychology, 21(5), pp.628-639.
De Mooij, M., 2018. Global marketing and advertising: Understanding cultural paradoxes.
SAGE Publications Limited.
Farrelly, M.C., Duke, J.C., Crankshaw, E.C., Eggers, M.E., Lee, Y.O., Nonnemaker, J.M., Kim,
A.E. and Porter, L., 2015. A randomized trial of the effect of e-cigarette TV advertisements on
intentions to use e-cigarettes. American journal of preventive medicine, 49(5), pp.686-693.
Moffitt, T.E., 2017. Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A
developmental taxonomy. In Biosocial Theories of Crime (pp. 69-96). Routledge.