Violations of children's rights in children's advertising or, more broadly, in the so-called “marketing communication”, which comprises all commercial communication activity for the dissemination of products and services aimed at children, was one of the topics highlighted at the opening of the “16st Media, Childhood and Differences Meeting: audiences and agencies in focus”. The event held by the Faculty of Education (FE) at the Unicamp Convention Center began this Tuesday, XNUMXth.
Lawyer Thaís Dantas, from Instituto Alana, gave an overview of the laws that guarantee the protection and rights of children and adolescents. She spoke about what the constitutional guarantee of absolute priority means, which is constantly disrespected, and commented on the importance of the role of the educator in monitoring situations of extreme violations. Thais highlighted that the topic of marketing communication has been widely discussed in the last decade.
According to her, advertisements use strategies that make the difference between advertising and entertainment increasingly subtle. She highlighted that children are very vulnerable because the perception of this difference only occurs from the age of ten, according to studies, and only from the age of twelve can children perceive the persuasive nature of advertising. “There are several problems that advertising can generate and worsen in child development”, she highlighted.
Another implication of child advertising abuse is related to the bullying. Some examples that the lawyer brought to the lecture were the perpetuation of beauty ideals and the imposition of aesthetic standards, the reduction of children's self-esteem and dissatisfaction with body image.
Thaís participated of the event's opening conference, entitled “Media and Childhood in debate”. Another speaker was professor Maria Jaqueline de Grammont Machado de Araújo from the Federal University of São João del-Rei (UFSJ). She spoke about research she conducts related to the representation of people with disabilities in cinema, specifically discussing two films.
The table was coordinated by professor Heloísa Matos Lins, from FE Unicamp, who also organized the meeting. The teacher spoke about the difficulty of thinking, in the educational field, about technologies and media, the pitfalls and dilemmas of approaching educators and media. “We want to discuss at this table concerns regarding children and adolescents, but also our concerns regarding teaching when we ignore the fact that technologies and media affect our daily lives”.
Before the lectures, the event was opened by the associate director of FE, Debora Mazza. She commented on the regulatory frameworks of Brazilian educational policies. “I would like to remember now, more than ever, the importance of us defending hard-won social rights that are in a period of serious threat,” she highlighted. Mazza defended the purpose of education “for the full development of the human person”. She said that “education is not a product, it is not a result. Education is a lifelong process that relies on people, places, situations, intangible material supports and technologies, which are important mediations to achieve education as a process”.
The event continues this Wednesday (17). Follow the schedule.
Listen, in Culture Connection, programmed by Rádio Web Unicamp, interview with professor Heloísa Andreia de Matos Lins, from the department of Educational Psychology, from the Faculty of Education at Unicamp
