The average Manitoba teenager watches 13 hours of television per week.  That includes 22 minutes of commercials per day, or more than 2.5 hours of ads a week!  On top of that there are product placements, whereby TV shows or films feature certain products, brands or companies either on-screen or in the script.  

All of this advertising is aimed at encouraging young people to buy more stuff.  And buying more stuff - in particular stuff we don't need - can have real environmental impacts.

Watching TV makes you needy

Youth are considered the consumer segment with highest percent of disposable income, able to spend their money on things that are not essential, like evenings out, CDs, extra clothes, movies, gadgets and more, instead of things like housing or groceries.  

This makes companies eager to market to young people more than any other group, and encourage them to buy, buy and buy.  And, creating loyal customers at a young age, companies are able to ensure that they have a long-lasting supply of consumers.

If you watch TV, go to the movies, or listen to the radio, you will be inundated with messages implying that this or that product will make you more popular, sexier, happier or more attractive. Advertisers are good at selling, and spend a lot of time, effort and money researching things like market trends, fashion, purchasing habits, "massclusivity" and demographic characteristics of target audiences. They take the trouble to learn which buttons to push to make people buy.

See also:  Media