Children's Understanding of TV Advertisements: Influence of Age, Sex and Parents

A study seeks to assess the children's understanding of television advertising from the early childhood to the early adolescence and the role of parent-child interaction in this process. For the purpose, two non-disguised structured questionnaires were designed and administered: one to the children and the other to their parents. Children from both the sexes were considered. The study has revealed that Indian children are not as easy a target as advertisers and critics believe. They are able to analyse TV ads and develop a realistic approach towards them. It has been further noticed that children as young as six years, could understand the purpose of TV ads and distinguish them from TV programmes. With increase in the age of the child, there was found to be a significant increase in his/her cognitive understanding of TV ads. Armed with the knowledge about the advertiser's persuasive intent and scepticism about the truthfulness of advertising claims, children above the age of eight years were found to have the ability to respond to TV ads in a mature and informed manner. The results of the present study also show that the TV ads contribute significantly towards the Indian children's consumer socialisation. Even parents admit the role that TV ads play in shaping their children's buying response. However, it was also found that early parent-child interaction was a key element if parents did not want their child to be effected adversely by TV ads. Parents have a responsibility to teach their child about the realities of the commercial world. They play a crucial role in determining what their child learns from TV ads as they supplement the information provided in them. The final lesson that a child extracts from the viewing of TV ads may be a joint product of what was shown on the screen and what was taught by the parents.