Advertising Literacy of Preschool Children

As the use of digital media continues to grow, the advertising industry has shifted its focus to platforms like YouTube to reach younger audiences. As the lines between advertising and media content become more indistinct, there are concerns about the potential impact on children. Preschool children between the ages of three to five are considered particularly susceptible to this type of advertising due to their underdeveloped cognitive and emotional abilities to comprehend and manage advertising messages, which is commonly known as advertising literacy.

At CEPEC, we aim to explore how preschool children respond to YouTube advertising, and how their advertising literacy influences their reactions. Additionally, we examine the effectiveness of advertising disclosures in influencer marketing for preschool children, as well as parental attitudes toward this type of marketing.

This research topic is currently part of the PhD research of Femke Loose, which is being supervised by Liselot Hudders, Steffi De Jans, and Ini Vanwesenbeeck.

Advertising literacy of preschool children