Underage Influencers: Reflections of Digital Advertising Targeting Children

Abstract

Within the consumer society, the advances resulting from the use of the internet have made it possible to massify advertising messages that increasingly migrate to digital platforms. Within this context, seeking to foster the market and access the diverse groups of consumer users, more and more advertising campaigns are aimed at children. In this digital space, the figure of young digital influencers emerges, children with notorious visibility who enter into partnerships with advertisers to expose the products and services offered in their accounts. The rise of advertising on social networks, especially YouTube and Instagram, is transforming the way in which children are exposed to the consumer market. However, as they are individuals who are in the condition of hypervulnerability, special attention should be paid to the way in which these messages are transmitted to children, seeking to prevent them from being bombarded daily with invisible, illegal and abusive advertising. The objective of the present study is to analyze the consequences of this early exposure to the child's physical and mental development, as well as to present the legislative and administrative alternatives adopted to prevent the occurrence of this abusive practice