Things Are Not Always What They Seem

Things are not always what they seem.

A few nights ago I was getting ready for bed and turned off the lamp on my dresser. Although most of the room was dark, I could see a bit of light on the wall that shone from the window.

I noticed that I could see the light with my left eye, but not with my right. I closed my right eye and saw the light. I closed my left eye, with my right eye open, and everything was dark. Was I losing my sight in my right eye?

Since I have had poor vision all of my life, just losing my glasses causes quite a bit of anxiety, so I was understandably concerned about this apparent visual change. I sat up and turned on the light.

That’s when I noticed that my hair was hanging over my right eye, blocking my sight like a curtain. How embarrassing. I can see the ads now, “Hair Causes Vision Loss” with experts from salons and optometrist offices filling us in on what can be done to stop this terrible malady.

This just goes to show that “seeing is believing” is not always a good rule of thumb. If we were to believe what we see in television advertising, we would be convinced that we would be happier, healthier, well-adjusted and successful if only we would buy a particular product. I understand that as adults we should know better, and we are equipped to use logic to make rational consumer decisions.

But children are not capable of making the same rational decisions that adults can manage. Advertising to children is a big business, and getting bigger all the time. When I was a child, commercials showed happy children playing with their new toys, and I would hound my parents for the coveted plaything that would make my life complete.

Increase the advertising exposure and you have children convinced that they NEED these things to be happy, which makes a parent’s job that much harder when teaching a child values. Kids hear things on TV like “A super kid deserves a super toy” with the word “deserves” being the trigger that starts a chain reaction of children begging for what they think they have earned.

Advertising is even in our school systems. First there was Channel One, the satellite television program that targets middle and high school students with a mix of news and ads. Schools receive equipment free in exchange for showing the program, and advertisers pay up to $200,000 to get a 30-second spot geared toward gaining those students as customers.

Now BusRadio is working on another captive audience, the students who have to ride a bus to school. BusRadio is starting in Massachusetts, but by September 2007 plans to go nationwide. A combination of music, safety messages, contests and advertisements, BusRadio uses the argument that bus riding is safer when kids are pacified by their programming. It also provides major corporations with another way to reach millions of young consumers.

The Institute of Medicine released a report in 2004, saying that schools should strive to be “as advertising-free as possible.” And according to the The Center for a New American Dream (http://www.newdream.org/), a organization devoted to helping Americans consume responsibly, research suggests that aggressive marketing to children contributes to excessive materialism and psychological and behavioral problems.

If there needs to be any kind of message sent to kids in school, I think rather than having advertisements, we need to promote healthy attitudes. I would endorse announcements that say, “Respect your parents,” “Respect yourself and others,” “Pursue your dreams,” and “Do your best.” Wouldn’t that be great? They don’t call me Pollyanna for nothing!

I’m getting the hair out of my eyes so I can see more clearly. How about you? Don’t let advertisers undermine your attempts to teach your children values. Your kids deserve the best.

Published in The Daily Telegram, Adrian, Michigan on October 21, 2006