Commercial practices and mental health

This blog was written by Kelvin Opiepie, Executive Director of the LEAD Community Foundation in Nigeria and a mental health advocate.

In today’s digital age, young people across the globe are increasingly exposed to commercial practices on the internet that can significantly impact their mental health and well-being. To address this issue, we must see the valid steps that can protect young people’s health as it relates to commercial practices.

What kind of commercial practices can impact on the mental health of young people?

According to Law Insider, commercial practices means any action, omission, behavior or representation, commercial communication including advertising and marketing by a trader, directly connected with the promotion, sale or supply of a product or service to customers.

Advertising a product or service with aggressive marketing tactics, especially those targeting vulnerable demographics, can lead to feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, and body image issues. Social Media platforms used in promoting unrealistic beauty standards, comparison culture, and cyberbullying contribute to anxiety, depression, and social isolation among young users. The recent surge in the online gaming industry characterized by obsessive and excessive gaming, creating addictive tendencies fueled by features and in-game purchases, can often lead to addiction, poor academic performance, and social withdrawal. On the Fast Fashion scene, the pressure to keep up with an ever-changing fashion trend can lead to financial stress, body dissatisfaction, and environmental concerns among young consumers. Junk Food Marketing on the other hand, encourages the promotion of unhealthy food and beverages and when targeted towards young audiences, it can contribute to poor dietary habits, obesity, and some related mental health issues like low self-esteem and depression. Alcohol and Tobacco Advertising are harbingers of euphoric exposure to the glamor depictions of their use. This often validates and normalizes these behaviors among young people, increasing the risk of substance abuse and related mental health issues.

Globally, these commercial practices are targeted at young minds from teenage extracts to young adults and there is obviously a core demand by their perpetrators to see the pressure culminate into addiction. Sadly, corporations are profiting from these anomalies.

However, I believe this begs the question, “Are commercial practices totally bad?” “Or are there ways to effectively utilize them? How can we leverage on the positive effects and control the negative ones?”

Knowledge we say is key but I believe that the first arsenal in the leveraging and controlling of commercial practices will be to equip young people with critical thinking skills to discern between realistic portrayals and commercial manipulation across various media platforms.

Encouraging the use of advertising and media platforms to promote positive messages, such as body positivity, diversity, and mental health awareness is also a major tool.

In addition, empowering parents with resources and guidance to navigate commercial influences and have open discussions with their children about advertising, consumerism, and media consumption will go a long way in the critical reasoning of the endangered audiences of these practices.

So what needs to be done?

It is also important to hold companies accountable for unethical marketing practices and encourage corporate social responsibility initiatives that prioritize the well-being of young consumers. As a check, fostering supportive environments within communities, schools, and peer groups that promote positive self-image, resilience, and healthy coping mechanisms is also highly recommended.

There ought to be regulations and strict enforcement to restrict and deter advertising of harmful products targeting young audiences, such as unhealthy foods, alcohol, and tobacco. A very effective enforcement of age restrictions on certain products and services, like online gambling and social media use can stem incursion by underaged audiences.

It is clear that regulations and guidelines to mitigate the negative effects while harnessing the positive aspects of online commerce is imperative. However, what regulations or guidelines should be in place related to commercial practices on the internet with young people?

Age verification measures are crucial to restrict access to age-inappropriate contents and products. For instance, incidents in Nigeria have highlighted the need for strict age verification requirements to prevent minors from accessing gambling websites and explicit material, protecting them from potential harm. In 2020, a report by BBC Africa revealed how underage individuals in Nigeria were accessing gambling sites with ease, raising concerns about the lack of effective age verification measures. Although majority of social media sites have a certain age that can access them but the crux is that most of these sites’ age verification hasn’t been effective as most underaged persons have used a falsified ages in order to access them; this calls for complete overhaul of these sites, legislations and implementation of innovative measures on how age verification can be more effective.

Consequently, advertising standards must be enforced to ensure transparency and truthfulness in online advertisements targeting young audiences.

In Africa, there have been instances of deceptive advertising tactics promoting unhealthy foods and beverages to children. In South Africa, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has taken action against several companies for misleading advertising of sugary drinks and snacks aimed at children, emphasizing the importance of stricter regulations to safeguard their health and well-being.

Data privacy protections are essential to safeguard young people’s personal information from exploitation by advertisers and tech companies. Recent incidents in Africa have underscored the importance of robust data privacy laws to prevent the unauthorized collection and use of children’s data for targeted advertising purposes. In Kenya for instance, concerns have been raised about the lack of stringent data protection laws, leading to instances of children’s personal information being exploited by online advertisers without their consent.

In conclusion, the intersection of commercial practices and youth mental health is a multifaceted issue that demands our attention and collective action. By fostering a culture of awareness, resilience, and responsible regulation, we can create a digital landscape that nurtures the well-being and potential of our youth.