How Do Advertisers Target Kids Online?

How Ads Appeal to Children’s Emotions

Advertisers target youth by appealing to and manipulating their emotions – using humor, nostalgia, insecurity, or excitement – to encourage youth to buy more products, content, and experiences.

In video games, advertisers may use how children feel when they win or lose a challenge to push products. For example, a game might offer paid hints or skips when a child is stuck on a level. Games that use “pay-to-play” features might also target the mood boost kids feel when they win or succeed. Because kids’ ability to regulate their positive and negative emotions is still developing, they are especially vulnerable to this emotion-driven advertising.

Youth are also highly sensitive to social influence and connection, especially in adolescence when the desire for peer acceptance grows. Advertisers take advantage of this by framing products as a means to fit in or gain social status. Some ads are also designed to create FOMO (fear of missing out).

Many children and teens form emotional bonds with digital characters and online influencers. These one-sided connections are often called parasocial relationships. These relationships can be used by advertisers to encourage more online spending. For example, characters or influencers promote products to young people either directly (e.g., labelled sponsored posts) or through entertainment content (e.g., videos that seem like regular content but include product placement).

How Kids’ Data is Used to Target Ads

Children’ s data (e.g., location, age, likes) is constantly collected online. This information allows for targeted online advertising to kids. Algorithms on these platforms use kids’ data to show ads that align with their online engagement. For example, a teen who engages with video game content (e.g., gameplay videos) will likely see ads for new games, consoles, and accessories later on.

Advances in AI allow advertisers to not only collect and analyze user data, but to also create content. This AI-generated content is often highly personalized and engaging. As a result, it becomes harder for kids and teens to resist buying (or asking their parents to buy) products.

What Can Parents Do?

How can parents help their children and teens navigate targeted advertisements?

• • Have shared media experiences – look and talk about these advertisements and promotions together. 
  • Help kids understand how some paid promotions and ads are not clearly labeled, and teach them how to recognize hidden ads on digital platforms
  • Remind your kids that advertised depictions of products or experiences might be different in reality
  • Ask your child how these advertisements and promotions make them feel. Discuss ways to navigate those feelings. 
  • Build AI and algorithmic literacy skills. Empower kids and teens by helping them understand how and why algorithms and AI are used in advertising online.
  • Focus on pay-up-front video games, instead of games that are often free to play but may involve in-game purchases, loot boxes, and pay-to-win design features.