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Chapter 1 A Close-Up View of You
The Effects of Advertising
Advertising strongly influences how you
spend your money. It is designed to stimulate
sales of goods and services by giving you
information about the items. Ads can provide
useful information about food, clothing,
entertainment, and other items. You can find out
about new or improved products in the market.
Being aware of how ads influence you
can help you make wiser choices. Advertisers
conduct research to find out why people prefer
certain items over others. That information helps
them develop ads that display their products
in appealing ways. Advertisers constantly try
to persuade you to choose their products over
others.
You might want to consider how media
influences your daily life, 1-15. What information
can be useful to you in your personal growth?
Stress, Violence,
and the Global
Environment
Today’s fast-paced society pressures people
to succeed at school, work, and home. It is also a
society with increased stress from terrorism, war,
and violence. This pressure can put stress on the
family and on individual lives.
Some stress is positive because it prompts
a person to act. For example, feeling stress over
a future test will probably cause you to study
hard for it. The more stress you experience
personally, the more it can affect your growth and
development.
Extreme or long-term stress can have a
negative effect on your growth. It can result in
special developmental needs. Constant exposure
to stress and violence can put the body in a
state known as fight or flight. This is the body’s
immediate tendency to defend itself or flee to
safety. The biological impact of living in this
state during development is negative. A child
may react by being impulsive, aggressive, and
hyperactive. The ability to think logically and
develop language skills may also decrease.
A child who has developed in a stressful
environment may have special learning needs.
This is not necessarily the fault of anyone in
particular. Sometimes unknown factors affect
the brain’s development. It is important that
parents, teachers, and others who work with
these children understand their special needs
and the best ways to help them learn. This help
is necessary for the child to reach his or her
maximum potential for growth and development.
(Additional information about managing stress
and its effects is found in Chapter 3.)
Think More About It
How do you feel after playing video games
for several hours? What steps can you take to
be sure the media you use for entertainment
has a positive impact on your life?
1-15
Advertising affects buying decisions, often
unconsciously.