The effect of parental interventions on food buying behaviour of children subjected to social media food advertising

Abstract

Children are considered important targets by companies. Advertisers are constantly searching for new and innovative ways to encourage children to purchase. However, children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of advertising, including the negative effects of unhealthy food advertising that may have severe consequences on children's overall health (Harris and Kalnova, 2018). In addition, commercials are evolving with the introduction of social media. Current social media food commercials are fully integrated with the content of the platform used, highly engaging and viewed repeatedly by children. This poses an additional challenge when it comes to protecting children from the negative effects of advertising. This thesis addresses the effect of social media unhealthy food advertising on children's buying behaviour, raises the question regarding the effectiveness of current interventions and proposes alternative measures to lessen the effect of social media food advertising . Additionally, this thesis discusses the need to consider a dual-step dual process model when suggesting interventions to mitigate the effects of these advertisements. The suggested interventions in this thesis are those exercised by parents at the two steps of advertising effects process (during advertising exposure and during purchase decision stages) and utilizing the two systems of information processing (implicit and explicit processes).

The conceptual model was developed and validated using online and hard copy surveys randomly targeting parents of children between the ages of 8 and 12 years old that are exposed to social media advertising. Based on 622 responses, the findings of this research suggest that children are affected negatively by unhealthy food advertising displayed on social media, which ultimately influence their purchase decisions. The study found five out of six suggested parental interventions are effective in mitigating the negative effects of these advertisements. The research offers multiple theoretical contributions and policy implications. From theoretical point of view, this study is a unique addition to the body of literature especially with the consideration of social media advertising and the dual-step dual process when proposing interventions. Also, it is sheds the light on the current status of parental interventions and children's buying behaviour when it comes to social media food advertising in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. From a policy perspective, this study provides an overview of the alarming status of children in the GCC region, voicing concerns to policymakers in the marketing industry to impose laws and provide support to protect children from unhealthy food advertising on social media platforms.