"Growing Up Online"

“Growing Up Online” was a very accurate portrayal of how young people are obsessed with the websites like MySpace and Facebook. Many teenagers have an exceptional amount of time on their hands, so their free time is spent on the computer. There are many things to do such as look at pictures, post comments, sent messages, do quizzes, and post information about yourself. Many people live a sort of double life because of the way you can portray yourself differently.
Many parents are afraid of predators and stalkers that many young people can attract online. Many young girls post up sexual pictures of themselves, which inevitably causes males to become interested and sometimes ask to meet them. There are a great number of young adults that would say that they would just ignore messages and comments that are predatory, but there are always the select few people who are not so smart. It is very dangerous to have information about where you live, but most people just say their hometown (which can still be dangerous). One mother even tried to monitor her children’s use of the computer by having it in the open and not in their rooms, but they still would close out on the screen when she would come around.
Advertising is massively used all throughout these websites. On every single page you will see advertisements on the sidebars and sometimes pop-ups come up. On Myspace sometimes a random person will comment on your page, but it is an advertisement for some product. I personally got fed up with that website when it began to be flooded with too many advertisements and it was extremely annoying. Facebook is okay, but it is always advertising for ways to be slimmer and more fit.
There is a lot of negativity when it comes to comments and pictures because people can comment really mean and nasty things that hurt one another. It is easy to just delete something that is written, but if you do not get to a computer fast enough, it may be too late and everyone will see it. One friend of mine had that happen to her recently, but she goes on Facebook every 10 minutes so she caught it and deleted it before many people could see the comment.
Overall, people need to be more aware of what they are putting on the web, especially since it can affect your job in the future. There are ways to get onto a website, and you don’t even know if your pictures and information truly is deleted. Someone can steal what you have and easily publish it somewhere else. Websites need to be monitored more carefully and parents should be more wary about letting their children spend a lot of time on the computer.

The Persuaders

We are headed towards having tangible advertising that connects people on more of an emotional level, not just creating brand loyalty. People who are at the top of the advertising business are trying to push the envelope because techniques are going to work as long as they’re the only one using it, but then it’s going to be saturated and they need to always be ahead of the game. People’s interests are the top priority, and as interests change, advertisers have to keep up with that and try not to lag behind when it comes to what’s “hot.” I think that techniques of persuasion are never going to go too far, especially since if it a outstanding idea that will be very profitable, there will always be people who will be for it. I feel as though advertisers will try anything to and advertising techniques will become more and more advanced as the technology in our world gets better and better.
People who have certain products put themselves in a kind of category of people, like those who are Macintosh users, those who like certain music, those who travel on a certain airline, or those who drink a certain drink. Many people think it is “cool” to do a certain thing and young Americans are extremely impressionable. We get all the messages and advertising since we are small children, not even understanding what we’re being advised about. We’re brought up being sold on different products and services, most of us not even knowing what goes into the research and production of those products and services. Once someone is set on a certain product, there is a sense of belonging and you feel like you found something that’s fit just for you, and advertisers are trying to get to these primal impulses to get us to be appealed to products and show us that that product will do just that. The advertising in movies works really well, especially when top actors are using certain brands and driving certain cars. The populace of the United States does look up to famous people, and usually if they’re using it, it must be good. Every time I see something being used in a movie that isn’t a fake generic name, but a real company that I see at the stores I go to, I wonder how much money those companies pay to have their product appearing in that movie. Movies that are aiming towards a certain audience definitely use this strategy as well, causing for a lot of sales.
Americans look for any excuse to buy products when they really don’t need them. Like the hummer example, why would anyone want to have a hummer if they live in New York City? People do not go off-roading in NYC, but a hummer is the vehicle that is the biggest and best of all SUVs, therefore people will waste their money on it. Americans are most definitely susceptible to the world of advertising and marketing, and we always want what is the biggest, fastest, most powerful, and most luxurious. For example, whenever a new iPod comes out, people want to update even though they already have an iPod that holds that same amount of music. When a new model of a car comes out, everyone wishes they had that newer model. The people who can afford to buy new versions of products usually upgrade, therefore making the need for newer products a constant obsession.
People need to be more aware of what people are advertising for, and people should do more research and not act on impulse just because someone says it is the best. People need to justify what they are buying on a logical level, not just from feeling good about a commercial or billboard. Personally, sometimes I will see an advertisement for some kind of food and they make it so appealing that I actually go out and buy that food for a meal. On a few occasions, I unfortunately regretted my decision to get McDonalds, but the advertisements work sometimes.

I think that marketers and researchers should be allowed to do whatever they can in order to find out what teenagers are interested in. Everyone needs to make money, and whether or not you are good at your job depends on how much you make, especially when it comes to people in the marketing and research business. Teenagers are definitely influenced by the media because they are very impressionable, ever since younger years. When kids are even younger, they look up to parents, older sibling or cousins, or whoever is older and “cool.” Who doesn’t want to be cool, right?
The ethnography study was something I found to be very interesting as well as effective. If teenagers are letting these people come to their homes and raid their closets, then who cares? It’s not as if they are intruding and not asking for permission. I think that that is a great way to find out what teenagers are into and how they feel about certain things, especially if they do their research in the right way and have people from all over the United States in all different towns and populations.
What better way to find out how to market and advertise? This way, it’s coming straight from the mouths of exactly who is spending the most money. Conducting surveys, taking pictures and making videos is definitely not going too far, and that is probably the best way to get accurate data besides raiding someone’s room and following them around asking questions all day. $150 billion was estimated to have been spent on teenagers in 2001, and I’m sure that number for last year is still about the same. Clearly, its important that companies are producing the right merchandise to sell to teenagers and adults alike (considering how much parents spend on teenagers).
From my personal experience, if you are a good, fun, nice, enjoyable, and of course “cool” person, what you wear or listen to or what you’re into do not matter. There are different groups of people who are into different fashions, different music, different movies, and different interests in general. I don’t feel like everyone tries to be the same, but there are some who just don’t know what they want, so they find out what they like through their friends. The marketing media is doing what they are supposed to, and it’s not that big of a problem with teenagers.