Is it possible for young viewers to simply tune out advertising learning content if they’re not interested? It’s difficult. The problem is that so much money is wrapped up in the industry–the whole corporate world depends on its effectiveness. No one can afford not to go to all lengths to sell their products, even if it means the learning content projected in their ads creates myths that damage children’s mental and physical well-being.

As children absorb learning content through the media, they are being targeted by billions of dollars worth of sophisticated corporate marketing. The Federal Trade Commission, conducting an inquiry into increasing childhood obesity, found that food companies had spent $1.6 billion to market their products to children and teens in 2006. McDonald’s alone spends about $600 million a year on advertising. It’s an eerie thought: the world’s most extravagantly-paid psychologists are employed by advertising agencies.

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