Youngsters are finding it difficult to distinguish between online content and commerce, according to a study by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) released yesterday. The study, which comes amid growing calls for banning youngsters from accessing social media, stressed the need for an ecosystem-wide response to alleviate concerns.

According to a PTI report from Mumbai, the ASCI analyses found that those between ages 7-12 years can spot overt ads, but miss hidden commercial intent, while older children aged between 13 and 15 years are more ad-literate, while remaining vulnerable to passion-driven and narrative-integrated brand messaging.

In a non-stop media stream, discernment is low across the board, it said, pointing out how influencer promotions, gaming integrations and vlog sponsorships register as entertainment for those between 7 and 12 years.

The ecosystem-wide response must involve platforms, creators, advertisers, parents and schools to ensure a “responsible approach to marketing to Gen Alpha”, the study conducted in association with Futurebrands said.

“Their cultural reference points seem disjointed from those of earlier generations. Insights on how they perceive advertising is the first step towards building more responsible engagement frameworks, given that they are the youngest media consumers in our country right now,” ASCI‘s chief executive and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said.

The study said Gen Alpha’s cultural codes, aesthetics, and language are globally synchronised, but largely invisible to adults and that there is an “authority vacuum” currently.

“As parents and teachers lose cultural fluency in children’s digital worlds, the algorithm has stepped in,” it said. Online and offline are not two worlds but one. The phone is not a device, but where they live their lives, it added.

The study proposed a system of ‘universal signposting’, and the ecosystem to work together to signpost commercial intent, using universal design principles, which allow young audiences to recognise what may be currently invisible.

No single actor can protect children alone, it said, adding that advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents will have to work together.

It also pitched for building age-appropriate media literacy and understanding of persuasion and commercial intent through formal education.

(Image courtesy ASCI Report)