TechnoKids recently released TechnoAd, in which students became digital marketers. In this project, high school students develop media literacy and video production skills as they plan, film, and edit footage to produce a video ad. To start, we wanted to create awareness of how much media exposure they experience.
Here is an extract from an assignment in Session 1 of TechnoAd called “You Are a Target!” The focus of this activity is for students to understand how media influences them. We want to teach them to become media savvy. As they become critical and analytic thinkers, they will recognize how advertisements are everywhere in their daily lives.
Advertising Is Everywhere
Today’s younger generation encounters more media content than ever before. Advertising appears in both in obvious and in hidden forms. Here is just a sampling:
| Traditional Places for Ads | Brand Logo on Objects | Digital Channels |
| billboard magazine newspaper flyer television radio bus shelter park bench | clothing shoes shopping bag pen water bottle key chain USB stick business vehicle | website social media feed search engine result podcast mobile apps news story or blog online game |
How Many Ads Might You See in a Lifetime?
Students first reflect on all forms of mass media. They tally which types of media they encounter each day from this list:
- network television
- movie or show streaming service
- radio station
- music streaming service
- website
- social media
- podcast
- mobile app
- video game
- newspaper
- magazine
- blog
- video channel
Then they add up the total number of media types experienced daily.
Media Exposure Calculator
Next, students use the total calculated above and insert it into the table below – types of media used daily. Since most types of media have ads, they multiply the media viewed per day by two, assuming that they see only two ads in each of those types of media each day. This is a conservative estimate! Likely there are many more ads than just two on any website, social media post, newspaper, or any of the others.
Then they complete the calculations to estimate how many ads they are exposed to in a lifetime! Although this may only be a rough guess, the purpose is to consider the massive amount of media that we consume.
Reflect and Conclude
As a final reflection on media exposure, have students consider:
Why is the number of ads you see in a day likely higher?
The calculation and conclusions lead to the rest of Assignment 1 in TechnoAd. Students learn how they are a target audience, how digital channels track user information, and how advertisers attract their targets. This information is put to practical use when students create a video ad of their own in the project.