People nowadays are surrounded by all kinds of advertising. Advertising affects what people think is important and it has a negative influence on people’s lives. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

As we are living in a more digitalised era, we found ourselves constantly influenced by commercials of all kinds. There's no denying that the information they contain can both consciously and subconsciously affect our decision making, I do not believe that all of the impact is negative. We can't overlook the amount of social impact advertising have on our society, especially for the younger generations. Since minors are still in the process of forming their world view and have little real life experience, the information passed down by the mass media can have a profound influence on them. In the 80s,

for example

, cigarette commercials were ubiquitous and smoking were considered cool.

As a result

, teenagers of that time were more likely to develop the habit of smoking.

This

took a toll on the entire national health and became a major public concern. Clearly,

this

example illustrates that commercial can easily shape our belief system, especially in the early ages. That being said,

however

, I don't share the view that all advertisements yield ill results. The best example would be charity commercials for non-profits.

For instance

, the World Wild Animal recently launched a grass-root campaign in major US cities. The campaign advocated for animal natural habitant's preservation. Not only did the organization distribute one-minute short YouTube videos about the daily life of the animals for awareness building, they

also

posted posters for fund raising. In the end, it gathered enough money to preserve and support 7 different habitats for 3 years.

This

magnificent case shows us the positive impact of advertisement could bring. In conclusion, it is true that commercials will shape the way we see the world. While some of them might bring negativity to the society, others bring out of the best of people.