Over three-quarters of kids who play product-centred games on Web sites think that these games are not "mainly advertisements" but "just games."
(Source: Young Canadians in a Wired World, Media Awareness Network, 2005) |
Kids are on the Internet and marketers are there waiting for them, big time. Should we care? Should we prepare kids?
Yes, to both questions.
In the whole history of advertising, there has never been a medium like the Internet—a medium able to actively engage young consumers, and even target them individually.
Whether kids are online for fun or to do schoolwork, they will eventually be exposed to marketing aimed specifically at them. So it's important that they understand when, how and why they are being targeted.
Check out the sections below to learn more about online marketing and protecting personal privacy on commercial Web sites.
