Research has previously shown that children under the age of seven can’t tell the difference between ads and other content, and yet countless children using their parents’ smartphones and tablets are being targeted by advertisers.
Much of this advertising is being done with “manipulative and disruptive methods”, says the study’s senior author, Jenny Radesky.
“With young children now using mobile devices on an average of one hour a day, it’s important to understand how this type of commercial exposure may impact children’s health and well-being,” says Radesky, a developmental behavioural expert and paediatrician at University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.
The study, published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, reviewed 135 different apps, many of which were clearly focused more on making money than on the child’s experience, despite often being categorised as “educational”.
So-called educational apps for kids are packed with commercials
According to a study by Michigan Medicine published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 95 percent of the 135 apps the research team reviewed contained at least 1 advertisement targeting children.
The University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital found at least one type of advertising in 129 of the 135 apps designed for children aged 5-and-under. All of the free apps were supported by ads, and perhaps surprisingly, 88 percent of paid apps also included advertising aimed at young children.