Abstract:
This study sets out to investigate one of the significant issues in television
advertising, namely, how television advertising affects South African children. The
purpose of the study was to investigate whether television advertising and its
inherent risks affect South African children, as the researcher believed that it was
crucial to explore the nature of television advertising directed at children.
A quantitative research approach was selected, and a descriptive research design
approach was adopted to achieve the purpose of the study, so that it could answer
the research questions. The population of this study is learners in Grade 2 to Grade
7, between the ages of 8 and 13 years old; learners (male and female) from 25
primary schools (4 independent and 21 public), with the total (N = 19 651) learner
enrolment in the Pietersburg Circuit of the Capricorn District. A sample consisting of
381 learners was selected from the 25 primary schools (4 independent and 21 public)
in the Pietersburg Circuit of Capricorn District to take part in the study. Data were
collected using a survey questionnaire. The specialist statistician consultancy
captured data through the use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
Data were analysed and are presented in the form of narrative reports as well as bar
graphs, pie charts and cross-tabulations. Descriptive statistics were used to execute
the data analysis. The findings revealed that most of the South African learners/children felt that TV advertisements have a certain level of influence on their behaviour. This was
especially the case among those older than 10 years but younger than 13-years old.
Both male and female children share the perception that TV overall and advertising
on TV influence their behaviour. They stated that children lack the knowledge or
skills and the ability to protect themselves against such influences. However, the
results suggested that South African children are very often protected from too many
negative influences as they agreed that their parents choose which TV programmes
they watch, decide on the hours spent watching TV, and that they are strict regarding
TV watching. Also, the findings suggested that children in these age groups or the
studied grades had neutral perceptions of the value of television advertisements.
The study recommends that more studies, locally, regionally, and internationally, are
needed on the nature of television advertising directed at children.
