Question by HTE: Negative effects of advertisement and media?
I saw some make-up add on TV earlier which stated that, “Inner beauty is important, but not nearly as important as outer beauty.” I think this statement is completely inaccurate, but it reminded me of a documentary I saw a while ago, The Ad and the Ego, describing the dangers advertising and media have on society.
Many people see advertising as harmless, but don’t you see the danger in it teaching people values and ideals such as the one above. I mean, look at the things we learn from advertisement: aging is bad and youth is good, money can buy happiness, being thin is good, a person’s success is measured by their paycheck, etc. But nobody can stay young forever, money can’t buy happiness, what’s really wrong about not being thin? and there’s much more to success than how much money you make.
These ideals and values that advertisement and media are teaching us are feeding people’s insecurities; they are altering our self-image and then providing a solution to the “problem” that will probably not satisfy people.
There are times when I’m thankful I’m a guy, because women get it much worse then men. Just look at the things that women are expected to do and look like; Look at how much advertisement is directed to women that changes their self-image.
I just think it’s wrong to be living in a society of constant advertisement that continuously makes people feel bad about themselves and who they are, and leaving them with that altered self-image. Anyway, What are your thoughts on the subject?
Thanks for answering. To the girl that feels bad about herself due to advertisement, don’t be. They are making you feel bad on purpose so you can buy their product. You can’t let them get to you. If anyone is interested in watching the Ad and the Ego, here’s a link:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8254887027300302831#
It’s an hour long, the quality isn’t very good, and the sound and image are out of sync for most of the documentary, but I highly recommend watching it. It’s really an eye opener and reveals the negatives of advertisement.
Best answer:
Answer by A. D
It completely destroys my confidence and any feeling of being remotely pretty by their standards.
It makes me feel like the only importance I have as a female is my looks.
What do you think? Answer below!