How to Help Teens Understand Advertising

Advertisers consider teenagers to be an important commodity. Parents should be aware of the constant and insidious manipulation that occurs as advertisers strive to capture a teen̵7;s attention. If you help your teenager understand how advertising works and what companies are trying to achieve through advertising mediums, you give your teenager the power to resist these pulls and thwart media influence.

Instructions

    • 1

      Talk about the goal of advertising with your teen to ensure he understands the premise. Ultimately, the goal of advertising is to create a want or desire in the targeted consumer. Inform your teenager that advertisers create specific ads with the teenage consumer in mind.

    • 2

      Provide some in-depth information about the experts and professionals who work hard to create compelling and successful advertising. An advertising team often consists of psychologists, marketing experts and strategists working together to develop advertisements that not only resonate with the targeted consumer, but compel them to purchase.

    • 3

      Encourage your teenager to view each advertisement with a critical eye to discern its message and the intent. Advertising can be subtle, influencing consumers by intimidation, fear, persuasion, reassurance or engagement over the long term -- think catchy jingles. Start raising awareness of advertising messages by asking your teenager about the intent of an advertisement or how she thinks the ad wants to lead her to feel.

    • 4

      Delve deeper to help your teenager catch more subtle messages. Product placement -- use of visible namebrands within entertainment -- can be extremely influential with teenagers, creating a strong need or desire for a product based on where the teenager saw it, advises the National Institute on Drug Abuse website. Help your teenager recognize product placement and explore the influence behind this advertising technique.

    • 5

      Discuss some of the inaccurate messages that come from advertising, advises psychologist Anita Gurian, with the New York University Child Study Center. Advertisements often strive to create a need that doesn̵7;t exist. Advertiser claims can also fall short of reality. Talk about times your teenager may have experienced a product not meeting expectations that were based on advertising claims.

    • 6

      Invite your teenager to talk about advertising of interest or concern to him. By keeping communication open and ongoing, you can help your teenager develop a savvy consumer attitude that should help him avoid falling prey to advertising.

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