- McJobs and Workers -

advertising does influence us even if we say we aren't

In Reply to: loss of your free will posted by Jen on June 27, 1997 at 21:23:42:

: Ben...my sincere sympathy regarding the loss of your free will. And that of the people in the UK apparently. You, and many others of your ilk, seem to want to live in a society where you protect everyone from everything. My daughter whines to go to McD's too. I take her there when I decide. Not when she does. Parents giving in to their children is a symptom of ineffective parenting, NOT advertising. These types of spineless parents are going to face much more serious issues than obesity when their children mature. Advertising is only advertising, not brain-washing. In the end, the individual gets to decide.

IF you had done any research you would not be so quick to speak. In AGE OF PROPOGANDA by Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson you would see that advertising does influence us even if we say we aren't. To quote from the book "even when communicators are not directly attempting to sell us something, they can succeed in influencing the way we look at the world and the way we respond to important events in our lives". How much more will they influence us when they spend billions of dollers to get you to feel insecure enough to be a good consumer. Even Plato in The REPUBLIC knew that advetising and propaganda could in itself destroy a culture. Look at our culture HONESTLY and you may find we are in real trouble.

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