The Effects Of Modern Day Advertising On 21St-Century Society

Advertising in the 19th and 20th century was not the same as it is today. In the 19th century, it was more on newspapers and print houses had a field day. Furthermore, in the 20th century, the trend and mode of advertising also transformed from print media to visual media. The media made use of the radio and television more. The print media was still used but advertising was done more on radio and television.

However, in the 21st century, the trend has also changed. The introduction of the internet was the beginning of change. The print and visual media have being swept away by the manner in which the world has embraced the Internet for virtually everything. From internet banking to studying online and the introduction of various social media has also had its toll on advertising. The internet has not just affected advertising alone, and it has changed the way and manner people do business, interact with friends, family, etc. Each day, millions of people carry out transactions online from different countries.

The introduction of the internet has made both negative and positive impact on the society. Some would argue that the positive effects of modern day advertising are more, and if at all the negative effects exist, they are few.

Some of the positive effects of modern advertising on the 21st century are:

Outreach - the society has become more aware and informed because of the introduction of social media and other platforms. For instance, if you advertise on the social media you can reach the whole world and thereby increase your target customers or individuals.

More informed – the society is better informed about certain issues. This is because more people now have access to the internet. In the past, when it was just radio and television, it didn’t make so much impact because some people in certain countries could not afford them.

Information gathering – because you can reach more people, means you can also gather information from people around the world. The collection of information is very vital for the growth of any society.

Some of the negative effects of modern day advertising on the 21st-century society. They are:

Fraud – because of the existence of fraud, some adverts about a particular product which may not actually be in existence, but a individuals may be tricked into buying.

Loss of jobs – the internet which plays a major role in the modern advertising has also caused people working in most of the newspaper houses to lose their jobs. The reason is that readers now prefer to access a newspaper online via the internet.

Brainwashed society? - Is society being brainwashed by the flood of advertising and media? Do people even make their own choices about what they want or need anymore, or are the choices made for them by the media and adverts? People are addicted to 'Window shopping' on the internet, and to reading all the 'latest news'. Everywhere you look there is advertising.