Prepare and submit a term paper on Negative Media Effects.
Your paper should be a minimum of 1500 words in length. Especially for the benefit of the kids, it is important to keep a check on the effects that these media and its ads bring on children. The media effects of TV ads can be attributed to the Social Learning Theory. The media-influenced depictions of society or lifestyle can be instrumental in changing the behaviors and attitudes of the children, particularly towards the advertised concepts in the media. The discussion focuses on a particular TV show and its advertisements thereby analyzing the ways these commercials are advertised, the products involved, and how it is directed towards the children.
The persuasive strategies used by the advertising companies in these commercials to sell the product are also discussed. In addition, the effects of these ads and their potential health effects on children are assessed in detail. As in Europe, the idea of prohibiting or restricting advertising of products directly to children, particularly when it comes to food-related products is a good measure that can be adopted. Social Learning Theory was formulated with principles of social models by Albert Bandura, highlighting the cognitive, self-regulatory, and self-reflective processes of humans. This theory is a highly influential theory in the study of media effects, as it symbolically represents media to be a vital source to facilitate observational learning and self-efficacy among the viewers. From the media perspective, Social Learning Theory suggests that for TV ads positively influence the audience, it has to provide an engaging, attractive, and similar model that relates to realistic characteristics.
In that sense, it can be said that Social Learning Theory provides a vantage point to examine the influence of media commercials on children’s attitudes and behaviors in a way that is convincing to bring personal and social changes. Social cognition theory suggests that repetitive and redundant portrayals of behaviors would prompt viewers to develop expectations and perceptions of similar behavior in reality. “Research shows that product preference has been known to occur with as little as a single commercial exposure and strengthens with repeated exposure” (McKay, 2013).