Kids on Internet – How Children Are Being Targeted by Online Marketers?

Advertisements never leave you. Those traditional flyers and posters to modern-day digital popups and banners, bombard out of nowhere and try to lure you by one way or the other. As an adult, you believe yourself to be smart enough to blink away from those enticing advertisements, but what about children? Are they mature enough to outsmart these luring pieces of media?

Increasingly, online ads are becoming a problem for kids on internet. Their daily lifestyle is profoundly impacted by online media which puts an adverse effect on their physical and mental growth. Not only children get addicted to online gaming but browsing “adult” content is as easy as ABC for them.

How are Children Influenced by Marketers?

Today we are living in a world where internet is a “can’t live without” thing. Availability of handy gadgets makes it even more easy for one to carry the internet in their pockets. This easy accessibility brings a golden opportunity for online marketers to brainwash kids.

Social media is one of the biggest mediums used by online marketers to sell their products or services to the younger generation. Facebook and Twitter are filled with viral marketing and constant sharing of content simply influence kids.  

Another way used by marketers to reach out children is advergaming which means advertising into video games. It’s a long-standing practice used to sway those little minds.

Not to miss those regular website ads that when clicked upon could lead the user to inappropriate content.

What’s the Harm?

Now you might ask – how do these ads are harmful for kids? We all know that children are more vulnerable, easily get under the impression and are too innocent to decide what is right and wrong. Pornographic banners, ads leading to content that entices children to participate in terrorist activities or drugs, and other such dangerous content can disturb a child badly.

What Shall Parents Do to Alleviate Internet Addiction?

Being a crosetting parent is not the solution because too much of interference can negatively impact your relationship with your child. The best way is to remember and practice the following points:

Educate

Considering the age, you must explain the motive and lying dangers behind the online advertisements. Tell them how these ads are placed to play with their minds.

Monitor

A constant tab on your child’s online activities is an important way to ensure his safety. But you need to be sneaky enough while doing so. This is because nobody like being monitored even if it is a child. So you can use a parental control software that lets you keep a track of what your child is doing on the internet without letting him know.

Block

Ad blocking tools can also be a lot helpful for blocking website ads. With just one time installation, you can ensure that your child doesn’t get to see ads while he browses websites.

Last but not the least, I would like to say that parents should do their level best in order to mitigate the dangers of online advertisements amongst children.