Results of study into knowledge of advertising and media released

April 18, 2019

Radboud University in Nijmegen has released the results of their Active Media Knowledge study. Children see advertising on television and the internet daily. What actually goes on in their heads at those moments? Do they possess enough knowledge of advertising to view it critically? The study provides answers to these questions.

Knowledge of advertising

The study into Active Media Knowledge showed that children possess a great deal of knowledge of advertising. They know adverts are intended to promote and sell products. Half of children even know companies have to pay money to secure an advertising spot. Children are also critical. They believe adverts are misleading and do not always tell the truth. Most children also find adverts irritating. They therefore have a good knowledge of the media.

Activating media knowledge

Nevertheless, children do not activate their media knowledge when they watch advertising. They know a great deal about advertising and are even critical of it, but this primarily appears to be before or afterwards. They do not adopt a critical approach when they see an advert on television or the internet. Is this correct and, if so, how come? Radboud University would like to research this further in a follow-up study by means of other measuring instruments.

Radboud University

The study into Active Media Knowledge was carried out by academics at Radboud University in Nijmegen. The KidsFoundation labels ensured representative study groups at various after-school care providers.