CT student: Why advertising towards children should be stricter

Advertising to children should be limited because they advertise bad health and habits towards kids.

First, food companies put their food in colorful packages and put food dyes in the food itself to make it seem more appealing to kids. The dyes could potentially be harmful, and the high sugar content is not healthy for a developing kid.

These big companies value money over the well-being of the nation’s youth. Not only is this harmful to the health and well-being of kids, but it also costs the nation money trying to fix obesity-related issues. Advertising unhealthy foods towards children only leads to issues therefore it should not be allowed.

In addition, games with in-game purchases targeted towards kids try to trick their users into giving them money. Epic Games, the creators of Fortnite, were found guilty of doing this and banning people who demanded refunds by the Federal Trade Commission in 2023 and had to pay over $500 million in fines.

Some companies advertise in-game purchases and violate the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Laws should be put in place to prevent companies from targeting a child demographic with potentially harmful ideas or products that cause issues.

CT leaders want kids under 13 protected from social media, to combat algorithms and ‘dangers and evils they pose’

Therefore, advertising towards children should be stricter. We have to not only restrict what is being shown to kids but we must also teach them to be healthier and to make better choices.

 Amanda Maisano is an eighth grader at Joseph A. DePaolo Middle School. She is in a class taught by Kerri Laferriere, Grade 8 Language Arts Teacher.