Can kids tell the difference between advertisements and truth?

A recent television commercial on the small screen in India cocks a snook at general advertising practice of arrogating the most outrageous claims to products. This soft drink ad adopts the ploy of showing an ad being filmed in which a female model is shown lathering her hair with a soft drink, saying how the… [ Continue Reading ]

Tube-watching Kids Prefer Junk Food

An interesting report on the eating habits of 91 families in neighbourhoods around Washington DC, USA, has revealed a significant set of findings: children belonging to families that watch TV regularly during mealtimes go more for pizza, snack foods and soft drinks laced with caffeine, and less for fruits and vegetables. Brought out by Tufts… [ Continue Reading ]

Battling with the Idiot Box

When seven-year-old Rohit returns from school, his mother gears up for a battle. The “battle” concerns his television viewing habit. Rohit wants to watch his favourite cartoon show whereas his mother insists that he go out and play in the park for a while. Such situations are very common and occur in every home. With… [ Continue Reading ]

Mesmerised by the Tube

The fact that television has an edge over other media because of its multisensorial appeal and the fact of its ubiquitous existence is what has made researchers probe its almost mesmeric hold on people across the world – especially pre-teen children, considering their impressionable developmental stage. The hearth and the kitchen, traditionally the core of… [ Continue Reading ]

Why are our Children Manipulated by the Media?

In the 1980s it was the bane of American society – manipulation of children. To the marketeer, of course, it’s a golden opportunity – children are easy targets and very lucrative ones. In China, since the single baby law, we have a generation of “Little Emperors” who are pampered and spoilt, and, most importantly for… [ Continue Reading ]

Small Screen, Big Aspirations

The edge television has over other media due to its multisensorial appeal and its ubiquitous existence has made researchers probe its mesmeric hold on people across the world – especially pre-teen children, considering their impressionable developmental stage. With this concern in mind, ‘Centre for Advocacy and Research’, a Delhi-based media research organisation in Delhi recently… [ Continue Reading ]