Blog 5: Children and Advertising

Advertising is a powerful tool which aims to convey a message about a brand effectively to influence consumers’ perceptions of the brand, to make the brand more desirable, and to persuade the consumer to purchase the brand (Gunter, Oates, Blades: 2005). The market for selling products to children is growing and most adverts shown are aimed at children (Gunter, Oates, Blades: 2005). However, advertising to children has raised many issues and debates in terms of its influence on children and whether they are effective consumers from an early age (Gunter et al, 2005). Therefore, this blog aims to discuss the controversial role advertising plays on children’s perceptions.

Firstly, an issue that has been explored by researchers is whether children should be viewed as consumers, and if so, when do they start becoming consumers? (Gunter et al, 2005). Zipes (2009) implies that children from an early age are spurred to consume and have become key players on all markets, as they are shaped by market forces during their childhood. This is supported by Pine and Nash (2002) who agree that children from an early age become consumers and are influenced by advertisement,  leading to ‘pester power’, involving children getting their parents/careers to buy products they have seen in adverts. However, just because children may be seen as consumers, do they really understand the advertiser’s intent to persuade? Leiss et all (1990) argues that children as viewers of advertising have neither the ability to understand the persuasive intent of advertising, nor the level of conceptual and experimental maturity to evaluate commercial messages rationally. This is supported by Beder (2009) who states that advertising is unethical because children can't critically evaluate adverts and distinguish between commercial persuasion and content as they believe adverts tell the truth.

In relation to the previous point, it appears that teachers should play a role in educating children about the effects and means of advertising (Banaji, 2010). Some ways in which teachers can bring advertising into the classroom is through getting the children to explore how advertising works in terms of persuasive content by analysis persuasive language. This is supported by the National curriculum (DfEs: 1999) which states that children should write to persuade, focusing on how arguments and evidence are built up and how language is used to convince the reader. Also, giving children the opportunity to create their own adverts may support their understanding of the components of an advert and their ability to persuade. The importance of this was highlighted in our seminar session where we were given the opportunity to create our own adverts. This could also be achieved through deconstruction of adverts including looking at who adverts are made by and for and how they persuade.

Finally, it is clear that advertising can have an impact on children’s’ perceptions, however, it could also be suggested that it has an impact on their emotions, desires and identity (Kenway and Bullen, 2001). This is supported by Clarke and Svanaes (2012) who suggest that purchasing products through advertising can help build children’s identity. They also act in supporting peer communities and peer literacy because they are seen as a cultural resource to use with their friends. (Kenway and Bullen, 2001).

 

Banaji, S. (2010) ‘Analysing Advertisements in the Classroom’ in Bazelgette, C. (Ed) Teaching Media in Primary Schools. London: Sage

Beder, S. (2009) This Little Kiddy went to Market. New York: Pluto Press

Dr, Clarke, B and Svanaes, S (2012) ‘Digital marketing and advertising to children: a literature review’ Advertising Education Forum, Available: http://www.apan.pt/media/97249/aef_digital_marketing_and_advertising_to_children.pdf

Department for Education and Employment (1999) English key stages 1-4: The National Curriculum for England. DfE: London

Gunter, B., Oates, C. & Blades, M. (2005) Advertising to Children on TV. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. pp1 – 13

Kenway, J.& Bullen, E. (2001) Consuming Children Buckingham: Open University Press

Leiss, William; Kline, Stephen & Jhally Sut (1990) Social communication in advertising. Persons, Products and Images of Well-being. Canada: Nelson.

Pine, K, J and Nash, A (2002), Dear Santa: The effects of television advertising on young children, Sage, International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26 (6), 529–539,

Zipes, J (2009) ‘Relentless Progress The Reconfiguration of Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Storytelling’ Routledge: Oxon.

 

Blog 7: Creating multimodal texts in the classroom

During the session, I created a multimodal text using Microsoft PowerPoint which broadened my understanding of how to use every-day programmes such as PowerPoint to create multimodal texts in the classroom. Prior to the seminar, I had not thought about using PowerPoint to create multimodal texts therefore this developed my subject knowledge and I found it to be an effective tool that could be used both by the teacher and the pupils. The schools I have worked in previously have had access to Microsoft PowerPoint therefore it is easily accessible and simple to use.

It is suggested that ‘literacy is no longer limited to reading printed books and other paper texts’ (Rudd and Tyldesley, 2006: 2). Therefore the importance of providing children with opportunities to engage with multimodal texts is highlighted by Medwell, Moore, Wray and Griffith (2012) as they state that it allows children to develop a range of skills for example taking into account symbols and scrolling and an alternative way of reading than turning pages. Furthermore, Davies and O’Sullivan (2002) suggest that ‘living books’ are similar in concept to paper texts however include animations, a range of sounds, music and opportunities for interaction through clicking on images on the screen. They ‘offer opportunities for developing both ICT skills and support for early reading’ (Davies and O’Sullivan, 2002: 105). Bearne and Wolstencroft (2007) support this by stating that it is vital that children interact within lessons in order to make it more engaging and motivating for them.

The National Curriculum (DfE, 2013) states that ‘computing equips pupils to use information technology to create programs, systems and a range of media’. Children could use PowerPoint to create their own interactive stories/books therefore demonstrating a simple way to integrate ICT into the literacy curriculum. It is now widely recognised that using ICT to read and write is a part of being literate (Abbott, 2002) and it is important that teachers understand the ways in which ICT can support learning and teaching within curriculum subjects (Loveless, 2003). Furthermore, Davies and O’Sullivan (2002) suggest that ICT needs to be understood as a developing and integrated part of learning in the classroom and not simply as a ‘checklist of skills to tick off’.

However, the ‘fear’ of using technology in the classroom often discourages teachers as it is stated that multimodal dimensions of digital texts have challenged the notion of literacy (Medwell et al. 2012). Additionally, Abbott (2002) argues that it is still much more tiring to read from a screen than from a printed page as screens have developed at a slower pace. ‘Although eBooks are now available, it is unlikely that they will be useful to schools until improved screen displays offer the same level of contrast and definition as a book, together with the absence of discernible flicker’ (Abbott, 2002: 14).

During my experience in schools, I have not yet seen the use of programmes such as PowerPoint being used to create multimodal texts. Therefore, implications for my future practice would be to use such programmes to enhance children’s learning in literacy through the use of ICT. The seminar enabled me to understand how to use a programme such as Microsoft PowerPoint to create a multimodal text. This text could be used in the classroom to develop children’s reading skills or could be used to help children create their own multimodal text which would develop both their ICT and writing skills. I think it is important to engage in a range of digital media in order to broaden my own experience of using ICT which will therefore build my confidence in using it in the classroom. As Dean (2010) states it is important that teachers have opportunities to explore and engage with a range of technologies in order to build the confidence to use them with children.

Abbott, C. (2002) ICT and Literacy Teaching. Reading: National Centre for Language and Literacy

Bearne, E. Wolstencroft, H. (2007) Visual Approaches to Teaching Writing: Multi-modal Literacy 5-11. London: SAGE.

Davies, H. and O’Sullivan, O. (2002) ‘Literacy and ICT in the Primary Classroom: The Role of the Teacher’ in Loveless, A. and Dore, B. (2002) ICT in the Primary School. Buckingham: OUP

Dean, G. 'Rethinking Literacy' in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms. London: SAGE

Department for Education (2013) National Curriculum in England. London: HMSO

Loveless, A. (2003) The Role of ICT. London: Continuum

Medwell, J., Moore, G., Wray, D. and Griffiths, V. (2012) Primary English Knowledge and Understanding. London: Learning Matters

Rudd, A. and Tyldesley, A. (2006) Literacy and ICT in the Primary School: A Creative Approach to English. London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd

My multimodal text...

I used PowerPoint to create an interactive story of Goldilocks and The Three Bears. As the example below is only a video recording of the presentation it is not interactive. On the actual PowerPoint children would be able to click on the links within the story, interacting with it to interpret what is going to happen next.

 

 

Resource: PowerPoint Presentation

Within the seminar, I used PowerPoint to create an interactive book based on the story of 'The Gruffalo'. This is only a small sample of what the children could use/make in the classroom. If children were using this resource to develop their reading skills, then they would select an appropriate word from the word bank and insert it into the blank space in the text. In this example, it would not only develop their reading skills, but it would also teach children about how to use adjectives. The children could also create their own multimodal text using PowerPoint in a similar way. 

Why should teachers care about digital literacy and childhood in the digital age?

This post approaches the question ‘why should teachers care about digital literacy and childhood in the digital age?’ in response to points raised in Palmer’s (2006) book Toxic Childhood. This extract was mostly aimed at the role of parents however it is still comparable to the teacher’s role in digital literacy.

Palmer proposes that technology is invading life and work; suggesting teachers should care about using digital literacy because it is an important part of childhood today. Children are ‘digital natives’ and the National Curriculum (DfE, 2013) explains that we need to make sure children gain the capabilities to use the technology available as it prepares them to be digitally literate in the future (Prensky, 2001; Pahl and Rowsell, 2005; and Stone, 2011). However, Palmer also highlights that there should be an ‘off switch’ and technology should not be used as an ‘electronic babysitter,’ meaning that digital literacy should not be used as a replacement for traditional literacy teaching. Instead, it should be used to improve teaching and support learning, for example Palmer recognises that technology has allowed the world to be connected; this link could be used to enable children to learn about other cultures (DfE, 2011).

Ofcom (2012) and the Byron Review (2008) both explain an issue, which teachers need to consider, associated with digital literacy that children are increasingly using technology and have easy access to inappropriate material. Palfrey and Gasser (2008) and Palmer both identify the fear of adults not always knowing what children are doing and watching with technology, this can become a child protection issue as there is an increased risk of children being exposed to harmful material (Prensky, 2001; Palfrey and Gasser, 2008; and Palmer, 2006). The Byron Review (2008) makes the suggestion that we should use this as a teaching point and focus on what children bring to technology; supporting the teaching of E-safety within digital literacy sessions (Palmer, 2006; and DfE, 2011).

Teachers should also care about digital literacy because technology is something children can relate to and be enthusiastic about (Palmer, 2006). By using popular culture it means children are more likely to be engaged in lessons and therefore are motivated to learn (Beauchamp, 2012; Dean, 2010; and Palmer, 2006). However, Palmer also argues that the overuse of technology can have detrimental effects on childhood and can impact learning as they may have problems with sleep and may be reluctant to go outside so teachers must be aware of a balance of traditional and modern techniques.  

Drawing on the views of Palmer and other researchers it is clear that teachers should care about digital literacy because technology is an important factor in childhood. However, it should not be used as an ‘electronic babysitter,’ teachers should be aware of potential issues and must not be afraid of the ‘off switch’ as there is still a place for traditional literacy.

Bibliography:

Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary School. From Pedagogy to Practice. Essex: Pearson Education Ltd.

Byron Review (2008) Safer Children in a Digital World. DCSF Publications.

Dean, G., (2010) Rethinking Literacy. In: C. Bazalgette. (Ed.) Teaching Media in Primary School.  Sage: Media Education Association (MEA), pp. 51-60.

DfE. (2013) The National Curriculum. In Scholastic (Ed.) The National Curriculum in England: Handbook for Primary Teachers Key stages 1 & 2. Oxfordshire. Scholastic.

Ofcom (2012) Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report. London: Ofcom.

Palmer, S. (2006) Toxic Childhood: How the Modern World is Damaging Our Children and What We Can Do About it. London: Orion Books. Chapter 9.

Pahl, K., and Rowsell, J. (2005) Literacy and Education: Understanding the New Literacy Studies in the Classroom. London: Paul Chapman Publishing.

Palfrey, J. and Gasser, U. (2008) Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives. New York: Basic Books.

Prensky, M. (2001) ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II: Do They Really Think Differently?’ On the Horizon. NCB University Press, 9 (6).

Stone, G. (2011) ‘WWW: Wikis, word clouds and web collaboration to support primary literacy’, English 4-11 (41) pp. 8-11. 

Blog 6: Why should teachers care about digital literacy and childhood in the digital age?

This blog focuses on the text ‘Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives’ written by Palfrey and Gasser (2008).

 

It is noted by Marsh, J., Brooks, G., Hughes, J., Ritchie, L., Roberts, S. and Wright, K. (2005) that children are growing up in a technological world and are developing a wide range of skills, knowledge and understanding of this world from birth. Palfrey and Gasser (2008) identify these children as ‘Digital Natives’ as they have grown up in a digital world thus have the computer skills and knowledge to use and access a wide range of technologies. This is supported by research which indicates that even children between the ages of 3 and 4 are using a range of different media devices, ‘including over a third who are going online using a desktop PC, laptop or netbook and 6% who are going online via a tablet computer’ (Ofcom, 2012: 2). Therefore this demonstrates the importance of teachers taking into account ‘childhood in the digital age’ as children are coming into the classroom with already well developed experience of technology (Dean, 2010).

 

Within the text, Palfrey and Gasser (2008) explore the differences between ‘Digital Natives’ who have the ability to multitask with digital technologies and ‘Digital Immigrants’ who are less familiar with technological environments. Furthermore, they highlight the importance of enabling ‘Digital Natives’ to explore and access different technologies as society can often ‘fail to harness the good that can come from these opportunities’ (Palfrey and Gasser, 2008: 9). The Byron Review (2008) furthers this point by stating that the focus should move away from the belief that digital media causes ‘harm’ and instead should focus on what children bring to technology in order to empower  them to manage risks and make the digital world safer. Research has indicated that the impact of digital technologies on learning has a positive effect on the motivation and engagement of children (Higgins, Xiao and Katsipataki, 2012; Marsh et al., 2005).

 

However, Prensky (2001) argues that educators often ignore the many skills that new technologies have enhanced in ‘Digital Natives’ which have profound implications for their learning. Palfrey and Gasser (2008) acknowledge this as they state that teachers often worry that the skills they have imparted over time are becoming either lost or out-dated as they are ‘out of step’ with the ‘Digital Natives’ they are teaching. Although children are confident with the technology, ‘they are still developing critical evaluation skills and need help to make wise decisions’ (Byron Review, 2008: 2), therefore teachers need opportunities to explore and discover digital literacies for themselves in order to build the confidence to use them in the classroom (Dean, 2010; Marsh et al., 2005). However, Higgins et al. (2012) argue that although digital technology engages and motivates young people, it is only an advantage for learning if the activity is effectively aligned with what is to be learned. Therefore, teachers cannot make the assumption that using different forms of digital media will have a positive impact on children’s learning unless it is used appropriately and effectively.

 

Palfrey and Gasser (2008) also identify the ‘fear’ associated with young children using technology as there is a high risk of being exposed to inappropriate or ‘harmful’ material. The internet allows for global exploration which can bring risks (Byron Review, 2008) however Ofcom (2012) argue that parents are taking some sort of action to intervene with their children’s media use. Experience of working in an educational setting has given me the opportunity to observe how teachers prevent children from viewing inappropriate content online. Whilst working in school, I supervised children who were using the internet for research to ensure they did not come across anything unsuitable. This experience also enabled me to understand why Palfrey and Gasser (2008) would refer to these children as ‘Digital Natives’ as they were independently able to log onto the laptops and use the internet with no teacher input or support.

Therefore it is important that teachers foster children’s ability to use technology and ensure that children engage with a wide range of media and technologies to develop ‘media literacy’ (Marsh et al., 2005). Children are growing up in a digitally literate world where they are exposed to a vast range of technologies, therefore teachers need to adapt their teaching to meet the needs of ‘Digital Natives’ in order to develop their learning through digital technology.

 

Byron Review (2008) Safer Children in a Digital World. DCSF Publications.

 

Dean, G. 'Rethinking Literacy' in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms. London: SAGE

 

Higgins, S., Xiao, Z., and Katsipataki, M. (2012) The Impact of Digital Technology on Learning: A Summary for the Education Endowment Foundation. Durham University: Education Endowment Foundation.

 

Marsh, J., Brooks, G., Hughes, J., Ritchie, L., Roberts, S. and Wright, K. (2005) Digital beginnings: Young children’s use of popular culture, media and new technologies. Sheffield: Literacy Research Centre.

 

Ofcom (2012) Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report. London

 

Palfrey, J. and Gasser, U. (2008) Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives. New York: Basic Books

 

Prensky, M. (2001) ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II: Do They Really Think Differently?’ On the Horizon. NCB University Press, Vol. 9: 6.

 

Childhood and digital literacy in the digital age

Why should teachers care about digital literacy and childhood in the digital age?

This week’s reading focuses on the Sexualisation of Young People Review which can be accessed here: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100418065544/http://homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/Sexualisation-young-people2835.pdf?view=Binary

This text explores the sexualisation of young people and was undertaken by Dr Linda Papadopoulos who writes from the unique point of view of a mother and a psychologist. The scope of the review encompasses the sexualisation of all young people as well as how hyper-sexualisation and objectification of girls on the one hand, and hypermasculinisation of boys on the other, perpetuate and reinforce each other. The prevalence of this issue is demonstrated by the fact that the government decided to commission the investigation and reflects the popular perception that young people are increasingly being pressured into appearing sexually available.

Behind the social commentary and the headlines about inappropriate clothing and games for children, there are the real statistics, on teenage partner violence, sexual bullying and abuse that need to be acknowledged and addressed. This review is a step towards understanding how, as parents, as educators and as citizens we can take responsibility for creating safe and supportive environments for our children to understand and explore relationships and sexuality , and ensure that they do so in their own time and at their own pace.

The review suggests that teachers and all adults must acknowledge the role of new media in creating an ideal of sex, sexiness and sexualisation by which young girls are judged and judge themselves. It finds that over the past three decades there has been a dramatic increase in the use of sexualised imagery in advertising. While most of this imagery features women, there has also been a significant increase in the number of sexualised images of children (Tankard-Reist, 2010). Sexualised ideals of young, thin, beauty lead to ideals of bodily perfection that are difficult to attain and can be severely harmful particularly for adolescents (Coleman, 2008).

It acknowledges that sexualised images have featured in advertising and communications since mass media first emerged, yet what we are seeing now is an unprecedented rise in both the volume and the extent to which these images are imposing on everyday life. The teacher can potentially address these challenges by fostering an ethos in which children are admired for their abilities, talents and values. This is of great importance as regardless of a child’s level of sophistication, when it comes to internalising media and advertising messages, there is a large body of research from developmental psychologists that establishes that young children do not have the cognitive skills to cope with persuasive media messages. This links with my previous blog post, highlighting the need for children to be supported and educated on how to contextualise images such as those conveyed in adverts. Parents are also a powerful force in shaping their children’s attitudes to gender and sexuality and have a vital role to play in supporting their children to cope with and contextualise sexualised images and messages. A consideration for teachers, however is how to deal with their class’s differing backgrounds and the impact this has on a family’s stance and role in mediating sexualised media content in today’s diverse, multicultural UK context.

As noted by Ofcom (2012) and the Byron Review (2008), children are increasingly recognising the internet as a platform to socialise and share, yet this has the consequence of easy access to material that may not be age-appropriate. As an example of parental concerns raised by Prensky (2001) the review highlights a lack of ‘watershed’ on the internet, and occurrence of sexualised images and adverts appearing anywhere, even being sent indiscriminately to e-mail accounts and mobile phones. The review makes the strong statement that with the rise of the internet, it is not now a case of if a young person will be exposed to pornography but when. Core cognitive learning and developmental theories demonstrate that children learn vicariously from what they see, and that exposure to themes which a child is not developmentally ready to cope with can have a detrimental effect. For instance, evidence shows an increased normalisation of such themes, such as young teens posting sexually explicit images of themselves on social media. It is already recognised by that digitally native children are a generation of creators, yet this development suggests a need for clear boundaries to be encouraged by adults on what is appropriate content to share (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008).

References

Byron, T (2008) Safer Children in a Digital World – The Report of the Byron Review Nottingham:DCSF

Coleman, R. (2008). The Becoming of Bodies Girls, medai effects, and body image, Feminist Media Studies Volume 8 Issue 2.

Ofcom (2012) Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report Research Document

Palmer, S. (2007) Toxic Childhood - how the modern world is damaging our children and what we can do about it London: Orion Books. Ofcom.

Palfrey, J. and Gasser, U. (2008) Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives New York: Basic Books

Papadopoulos , L. (2010) Sexualisation of Young People Review Home Office

Prensky, M. (2001) ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II: Do They Really Think Differently?’ in On the Horizon 9 (6) (pdf on LN)

Tankard Reist, M., (2010) Getting Real: Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls. Spinifex Press.

Children and Advertising

During this week’s session I was fortunate to experiment with the Imovie app on an Ipad. This opened my eyes to the potential of creating an advert using increasingly accessible technology. I was able to draw upon features witnessed in current advertisements such as persuasive voice overs, suspense and humour, to create an effective advert for a ‘Woody’ toy.

My stance on children and advertising is that I worry whether children such as my 10 year old sister are unknowingly being manipulated by the adverts that they are exposed to. My main concern is that she is being tainted to view the world in a constantly consumer-driven way. I shall now explore this concept further in terms of how advertising influences children’s perceptions of themselves, whether children should be viewed as consumers, and the extent that children and teachers should be educated on the ways of advertising.

With the intention of an advert being to influence consumer’s perceptions of a brand, thereby making it more desirable, children are influenced, sometimes unknowingly to want or feel that they ‘need’ a certain product in order to confirm their identity (Gunter, Oates and Blades, 2005).  Adverts also differ greatly depending on which gender they are specifically appealing to and this has been shown to affect the way in which children believe they should act. This is most prevalent in adverts for toys whereas food is more commonly aimed at both genders.

From businesses’ point of view, children are a potential market group that is perhaps too good to be missed. However, the issue of whether children should in fact be viewed as consumers is a particularly controversial one (Banaji, 2010). Brands have undoubtedly exploited the influence of ‘pester power’ which recognises that children are active consumers, spending their own or parents money, yet it could be said that this is unethical on young minds who lack the conceptual understanding or maturity to evaluate commercial messages rationally (Leiss et al., 1990. p365). In this way, children are passive while advertisers channel their thinking habits and bypass their conscious awareness so that they believe adverts to tell the truth (Pachard, 1957).  In particular, the boundaries between information, entertainment and advertisement are increasingly blurred, in order to mask media’s real intent, which through cross selling, licensed merchandising and product placement is really to sell its own brand (Kenway & Bullen, 2001). Perhaps in response to this, legislation has been in place since 2007 to prevent use of cartoon characters on food TV adverts for foods deemed as ‘junk food’. This may have caused a shift in advertisers attention from the child to the parent, as adverts have begun to target adults.

While some children do demonstrate an awareness of adverts power to persuade, this is not always the case (Raising Children Network, 2011). This suggests a need for children to be educated on the features and true purpose of advertising, yet in order for this to be effective teachers must have a strong understanding themselves. They may then equip children to interpret, make informed decisions, and become critical readers and viewers of adverts. Example lessons should involve the deconstruction of adverts, on the internet, in magazines and on TV so that children may ask how they are made to be persuasive and by who (Mediasmart, 2011). Educating children to contextualise the adverts that they are faced with on a daily basis is of prime importance according to Beder (2009) who found that nearly all the problems facing children today are a direct result of the efforts of corporations to make profits from children and to shape and socialise them to suit business interests.

References

Banaji, S. (2010) ‘Analysing Advertisements in the Classroom’ in Bazelgette, C. (Ed) Teaching Media in Primary Schools. London: Sage

Beder, S. (2009) This Little Kiddy went to Market. New York: Pluto Press

Gunter, B., Oates, C. & Blades, M. (2005) Advertising to Children on TV. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. pp1 – 13

Kenway, J. & Bullen, E. (2001) Consuming Children Buckingham: Open University Press

Leiss, William; Kline, Stephen & Jhally Sut (1990) Social communication in advertising. Persons, Products and Images of Well-being. Canada: Nelson.

Media Smart (2011) Resources for Body Image (Online) http://www.mediasmart.org.uk/resources/bodyimage

Packard, Vance ([1957] 1960), The Hidden Persuaders. London: Penguin Books

Blog 5: Do children buy into adverts?

Due to the rapid technological advances in today’s society, companies are now able to advertise their products across a wide range of media such as television, radio, internet and posters. The purpose of advertising is to increase purchases of a product (Gunter, Oates and Blades, 2005) and children especially are deemed more vulnerable to the effects of advertising than adults (Banaji, 2010). Cooke (2002) notes how children in the United Kingdom and United States spend, on average, between four and five hours a day accessing technological media outside of school through which advertisements are transmitted. Furthermore, approximately 10 minutes of every hour is dedicated to adverts on television thus making children a prime target to appeal to as consumers. Therefore, teachers need to provide an education to pupils about advertising, to make them more aware of its purpose and uses and to unpick the narratives within them (Banaji, 2010).

Advertising to children is surrounded by controversy, with it often being suggested that children ‘need protecting from the effects of advertising in general or from the advertising of particular product’ (Gunter et al., 2005: 2). However, Beder (2009) states that advertisements are the means by which companies actively encourage children to seek happiness and esteem through consumption. Alternatively, Gunter et al (2005) suggest that children today, particularly girls, are ‘getting older younger’ and this is due to images they see on television and in magazines of ‘the perfect model’. This can often have a negative impact on children as it reinforces pressures to conform to ideals of beauty that are hard or impossible to achieve (Gunter et al., 2005).

Gunter et al (2005) suggest that a less controversial example of advertising is toys as they are more age appropriate. However, according to Nairn (2011), children are often ‘brand bullied’ or left out for not having the latest product as advertisers give children a false sense of desire for a toy that parents cannot afford. Livingstone and Helsper (2006) found that there is evidence that children of all ages are affected by advertising, thus this can be seen as the exploitation of children who have little understanding of the persuasive nature of advertisements and the power that they hold. This point was raised in seminar discussions as this is a key issue related to children being consumers of advertisements.

However, despite there being many negative attitudes, Burrell and Beard (2010) state that the study of advertisement in schools can develop children’s skills in persuasive writing due to the type of language that is used in adverts. Within the National Curriculum (DfE, 2013) it is highlighted that children should identify the audience for and the purpose of their writing, therefore teachers could incooperate advertisements within literacy lessons to develop children’s persuasive writing. Using adverts as an example is relevant to children and can be much more exciting when combining the use of technology with literacy (Monteith, 2002). Children need to engage not only with advertising, but with all which is around them in the world to greater prepare them for society.  In this way, it is proposed that children increase their ability to judge the ‘facts, opinions and persuasive content’ of advertisements (Banaji, 2005).

Banaji, S. (2010) ‘Analysing Advertisements in the Classroom’ in Bazelgette, C. (Ed) Teaching Media in Primary Schools. London: Sage

Beder, S. (2009) This Little Kiddy went to Market. New York: Pluto Press

Burrell, A. and Beard, R. (2010) Children’s Advertisement Writing. Literacy. 44 (2) pp 83 - 90.

Cooke, T. (2002) in Gunter, B., Oates, C. & Blades, M. (2005) Advertising to Children on TV. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. pp1 – 13

Department for Education (2013) National Curriculum in England: English programmes of study- key stages 1 and 2. London: HMSO

Gunter, B., Oates, C. & Blades, M. (2005) Advertising to Children on TV. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. pp1 – 13

Livingstone, S. and Helsper, E. (2006) ‘Does Advertising Literacy mediate the effects of Advertising on children? A critical examination of two linked research literatures in relation to obesity and food choice’, Journal of Communication, 56 (3):560 – 84.

Nairn, A. (2011) Compulsive Consumerism – Child Rearing in the UK. New Left Project

Blog 4 - Web 2.0 and New Literacies in the Classroom

During our seminar session, I was given the opportunity to engage with Web 2.0 technologies and new literacies, including ‘Jigzone’, ‘Wordle’, ‘Storybird’ and ‘Tagzedo’. Due to this, I feel more confident that I have the skills and knowledge on how to use these forms of technologies in my own practice. This relates to my second blog which discussed an issue regarding teacher’s ability and confidence to use new literacies and technologies in the classroom, as Dean (2010) argues that teachers need opportunities to explore and discover new literacies & have access to training and the technology (Marsh et al 2005).

The use of Web 2.0 and new literacies in the classroom, is an important aspect of education and should therefore, play a role in my future practice.  Hague and Payton (2010) state that education systems need to help young people to understand and benefit from their engagement with digital technology and digital cultures. Fostering digital literacy in the classroom provides ways to make subject learning relevant to a society in which growing technology use, is changing the way that both adults and children represent and communicate information and meaning and participate in cultural life (Hague and Payton: 2010). This therefore, stresses the importance for teachers to integrate this into the primary classroom.

Through exploring and experimenting with Web 2.0 and new literacies in our seminar session, I became familiar with how literacy and technology can support each other in helping children to progress in their learning (Merchant, 2009). The Primary Framework (DCFS, 2006), provides opportunities for teachers to incorporate digital literacy into their practice. However, a limitation of this is that teachers may be faced with a challenge of being unsure if some forms of technology actually constitute literacy and are therefore, driven back to print literacy (Merchant, 2009). This shows the importance of teachers having the knowledge and confidence of using new literacies.

From looking at Web 2.0 and new literacies, I also became aware that they are not only educational for children but fun, interactive and engaging. This can benefit children’s learning as Williams and Chinn (2009) determined that the use of familiar Web 2.0 tools allowed for increased active learning and excitement in children because they mirrored their real-life scenarios of using technology at home. Meanwhile, Shaohua and Peilin (2008) agreed that integrating Web 2.0 technologies into the classroom can increase learners' satisfaction and interaction levels.

On the other hand, an issue that needs to be considered when introducing children to new literacies and Web 2.0 is that, it is easy to assume that all children are brought up with a wealth of skills about digital technology; however, this may not be the case (Hague and Payton: 2010). This puts pressure on teachers to not assume that all children come into school with these skills. However, it is important that children learn skills to become digital literature as the National Curriculum (DfEs: 2013) states that pupils need to become digitally literate and be able to use and express themselves and develop their ideas through information and communication technology, as active participants in a digital world.

To conclude, I feel more experience is needed with children in a classroom setting in order to continue improving my own practice in supporting children in this area. Merchant (2009) argues that the challenge for the classroom is how to make educational use of the new literacy practices.

 

Dean, G. 'Rethinking Literacy' in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms London: SAGE

DCFS (2006). Primary framework for literacy and mathematics. Available :http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/14160/1/15f5c50f1b2f78d6af258a0bbdd23951.pdf [ACCESSED: 15/02/2014)


Hague, C, & Payton, S (2010) Digital Literacy across the Curriculum, Futurelab

Merchant, G (2009, Literacy in virtual worlds, Volume 32, Issue 1, Journal of Research in Reading: Sheffield Hallam University, pp 38-56

 Marsh, J. et al, (2005) ‘Digital beginnings: Young children’s use of popular culture, media and new technologies’ Literacy Research Centre, University of Sheffield

Shaohua, H. & Peilin, W. (2008). Web 2.0 and social learning in a digital economy. Proceedings of the

IEEE Knowledge Acquisition and Modeling Workshop, Wuhan, China, Dec 21-22, 2008 doi: 10.1109/KAMW.2008.4810691

Williams, J. & Chinn, S. (2009). Using Web 2.0 to support the active learning experience. Journal of

Information Systems Education, 20(2).

 

Children and advertising...

The main focus of advertising is to influence consumers’ perceptions of the brand, but it is suggested advertising can also influence children’s perceptions of themselves (Gunter, Oates and Blades, 2005; and Marshall, 2010). Marketers use role models and attractive lifestyles within their adverts to influence children to buy their products (Gunter et al, 2005). Within the seminar the issue of adverts producing ‘demeaning stereotypes’ was discussed, these stereotypes, which are often used in advertisements, can be harmful. They can result in children developing negative perceptions of themselves, resulting in the idea that they must conform to the ideals of society (Gunter et al, 2005).

Children are being increasingly influenced by commercialism and the development of consumer culture and technology has led to children encountering advertisements more often, at a much younger age (Marshall, 2010). Marketers’ now have an increased interest in children as consumers, mostly due to them having purchasing power and influence products for themselves (Ekström, 2010; and Gunter et al, 2005). So perhaps children should be viewed as consumers. In contrast, it can be argued that advertising has little effect on children, instead social fashions and peer pressure may be the most important factors in creating the desire to buy products (Proctor and Richards, 2002; and Gunter et al, 2005). Advertisements aimed at children generally use popular characters from children’s programs. As a result, it may be difficult for children to distinguish between advertisements and programs and therefore children do not understand that what they are watching is attempting to persuade them to buy products. Instead, they may be subconscious consumers (Gunter et al, 2005).

Children are thought to be particularly vulnerable to advertising as they know less about marketers’ intent compared to the understanding developed by adulthood (Oates, Blades, Gunter and Don, 2003; and Gunter et al, 2005). Bowen (2000) contradicts this, claiming that very young children, even from the age of three, have some understanding of particular aspects of marketing. Nevertheless, children’s recognition of advertisements is not the same as understanding their persuasive purpose (Gunter et al, 2005). The age of understanding has been debated, but it is clear it may be possible to develop understanding sooner when supported by explicit teaching in the primary years (Gunter et al, 2005). Some researchers suggest the most effective way to help children understand advertising is through their parents (Furnham, 2000). Though, relying on parents alone can be limited. Not all parents may have the appropriate knowledge to teach children and assess their levels of understanding (Gunter et al, 2005). Another way to increase children’s understanding is through school education; encouraging children to learn the nature of marketing. Teachers will have to take into account the ideas discussed previously when teaching. An issue with the curriculum means that time spent on topics such as advertising may be limited so teachers will also have to take this into account when planning and perhaps teach advertising alongside other areas, such as persuasive texts (Gunter et al, 2005; Burrell and Beard, 2010; and DfE, 2013).

Bibliography:

Bowen, M. (2000), ‘Kids Culture’, International Journal of Advertising and Marketing to Children. 2 (1) pp 19-23.

Burrell, A. and Beard, R. (2010). Children's advertisement writing. Literacy. 44 (2) pp 83 - 90.

DfE. (2013) The National Curriculum. In Scholastic (Ed.) The National Curriculum in England: Handbook for Primary Teachers Key stages 1 & 2. Oxfordshire. Scholastic.

Ekström, K. (2010) Consumer Socialization in Families. In: Marshall, D (ed.) Understanding Children as Consumers. London: SAGE Publications.

Furnham, A. (2000): Children and Advertising: The Allegations and the Evidence: Social Affairs Unit.

Gunter, B. Oates, C. and Blades, M. (2005). Advertising to Children on TV.  New Jersey: Laurence Erlbaum Associates.

Marshall, D (2010) Understanding Children as Consumers. London: SAGE Publications.

Oates, C., Blades, M., Gunter, B., and Don, J. (2003) ‘Childrens Understanding of Television advertising: a Qualitative Approach’, Journal of Marketing Communications. 9 (2) pp 59-71.

Proctor, J. and Richards, M. (2002) ‘Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Beyond Pester Power’, International Journal of Advertising and Marketing to Children, 3 (3) pp 3-12.

Here is a useful website, which I came across when researching this blog task. It has free teaching resources to help children think critically about advertising in the primary classroom:

http://www.mediasmart.org.uk/