It is argued that advertisements could positively impact our economy. While this notion may be true to a certain extent, others believe that advertisement’s ability to instill insecurity could have severe implications for each person. Although both schools of thought hold merit, I endorse the former perspective more.
On the one hand, there are several arguments supporting the belief that advertisements could yield beneficial effects for our economy. In the past, when clients demanded to purchase a product or service, they often had a sense of reliance on the information from sellers, which could be biased and might not give them the best level of satisfaction. In contrast, thanks to the wealth of data and informative advertisements, clients are well-informed about the range of choices for their desired products or services before making any decision to purchase. As a result, customers have the ability to buy more appropriate products, which boosts overall sales and improves their satisfaction.
Opponents of the previous view, on the other hand, suppose that advertisements can detrimentally affect people’s self-esteem. As the ultimate goal of ads is to attract the viewer’s attention and encourage them to make purchases, they invariably rely on exaggeration and misleading content that promotes unrealistic beauty standards or materialistic lifestyles. Thus, individuals often experience feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction as they frequently compare their realities to the unattainable ideals projected by advertisements. For instance, skincare products invariably promote unrealistic beauty standards, while dietary supplements also claim that making people feel like taking more medication is a comprehensive way to live healthily. By targeting people with impulsive buying habits, as a result, advertisements can lead to irrelevant product purchases, squandering customer’s resources and eroding their self-esteem.
In conclusion, notwithstanding the mixed opinions on determining whether the impact of advertisements on society is adverse, I believe that while they can surge overall sales and contribute to economic development, advertising strategies that take note of exaggeration can erode people’s sense of security and lead to unwanted purchases.