Studying the Child/Television Advertising Relationship: A Symbolic Interactionist Approach

Abstract

The authors argue that research has focused too narrowly on the effects of television advertising on children. To fully understand the child/television advertising relationship, it is their position that it is necessary to actually examine the social character of child viewing situations. They present the logic of the naturalistic method of symbolic interactionism as an alternative approach for developing a more complete understanding of television advertising in the lives of child viewers.