Blog 2

Culture is a huge part of America, both positively and negatively. American culture is high on sports, entertainment and great food. However, a strong part of our culture is the media. TV and radio both include advertisements, which try to manipulate us to buy their products. As Wilson shows in the book, 83% of the purchases made in America are by women. In a way that surprises me but at the same time it doesn't. It seems the biggest target audience today is kids and teenagers. They are more willing to want things based on commercials and on what is popular. Lots of kids and teenagers listen to the radio or watch TV, and the shows they watch have commercials that target that age group. Music, celebrities, bold colors, and lots of action attract kids and companies use those in their commercials. Some of these methods are used in stores to attract kids to the products. These days the majority of a families budget goes towards the kids: toys, clothes, food, electronics, etc. Girls especially when it comes to clothing. Once they reach a certain age, they start to worry about their appearance. Clothing commercials tend to use skinny girls to model their products and sometimes in turn girls who are not as skinny look down on themselves. Even though the amount of people in America who are overweight and obese is high, it seems like America is telling us that we should be a certain weight or have a certain body type. These commercials are starting to tell this to people at a young age. Younger people should not have to worry so much about their appearance and should love themselves for who they are. Of course this is true for adults as well but I think it's more of a problem for younger people because they are still learning and growing.