Consumerism: Marketing to Children in the Modern Age Watching TV in the evening you expect to see a fair amount of commercial advertisements. It doesn't matter if you stay and watch the commercials or if Americans don't watch that much TV they'll get to you sooner or later. The simplest bait is the endless food ads during the 6 o'clock time. What advertisers are creating are memories; you might not immediately jump up and head to the nearest fast food restaurant at that moment. But the next day, while you're running around, you think I need a snack and you go straight to one of the places you saw in a commercial the night before. That emotion, that memory connection that sent you to fast food heaven to try their new chicken wings is what makes the world of advertising so successful. Food ads are just one of many industries that use emotional connection to sell products. Advertising companies even hire psychologists to improve the emotional connection we have with things and brands. Just the thought of emotional manipulation could make anyone angry, but what if all that emotional baggage was actually aimed at our children? Are advertisers really targeting our children to sell toys, food and clothes? The short answer is yes, they even go as far as using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine which parts of the brain react to different types of advertising (Kramer 2006). TV, the Internet and school are all considered the main means of exposure for children. Viral videos are meant to be shared among friends and this in turn makes them perfect touchpoints for ad creators to influence children. The search engine Google and the social media website Facebook both collect "likes" and market directly on their websites. Kids and with... middle of paper... awfully easy for kids to recognize brands and remember their favorite characters. Laws and regulations are needed, many overseas countries have started to pass laws that protect the rights of our children. It's time for the United States to get up to speed on this issue. Works Cited Kramer, Juli B. “Ethical Analysis and Recommended Actions in Response to the Dangers Associated with Youth Consumerism.” Ethics and Behavior 16.4 (2006): 291-303. Academic Research Premier.Linnett, Richard. "Psychologists protest children's ads." Advertising Age 71.38 (2000): 4-69. Academic Research Premier.Mandese, Joe. “Study Says DVRs and Advertisements Can Coexist.” Television Week 23.23 (2004): 35. Academic Research Premier.Shields, Mike. "Kill the messages." Mediaweek 17.8 (2007): 6. Academic Research Premier.Stanley, T.L. “Babies In Brandland.” Brandweek 48.37 (2007): 28-32. Premier of academic research.