The Impact of Advertising on Children's Consciousness through Social Networks

Bachelor Thesis on topic: “The Impact of Advertising on Children’s Consciousness through Social Networks”. Author: Polteva Iana Alexandrovna The thesis was written with the purpose of identifying the manner, ways and level, on which social media advertising in TikTok social network influences the consciousness of children aged 14 to 17. Consumer consciousness of children aged 14 to 17 is the object of the research. Influence of social media advertising in TikTok social network on consumer consciousness of children aged 14 to 17 is the subject of the study. In order to achieve the thesis’s goal, several objectives were proposed for the research: identifying the ways in which children are influenced by advertising; researching features of consumer socialisation and the phenomenon of conspicuous consumption; identifying connections between the values of the individual and his attitude towards conspicuous consumption; analyzing the contribution of advertising in TikTok on the development of children’s consumer behaviour. Since there is little fundamental and up-to-date academic and scientific research in the target age group (14 to 17) and there is also little research on TikTok social network, the author conducted his own research. The goal of the research is to identify the perception of advertising on TikTok social network of children in the target age. To achieve the goal, the author has created a survey, which includes nine blocks of questions regarding the topic. The statistics exported out from this survey serve as an empiric base for the thesis research. The results, getted from the work, show that teenagers in the age group between 14 and 17 years from wealthy families are more prone to conspicuous consumption and are more influenced by brands’ advertising in social media. The practical applications of this conclusion lye in the area of marketing and advertising, targeted at children from wealthy families aged 14 to 17 by premium brands which contribute to the social status of the teenagers.