Children's Awareness of Online Advertising on Neopets: The Effect of Media Literacy Training on Recall

Abstract

This pilot study explored the inherent ability of 4th and 5th graders to identify online advertising on the Neopets Website. The same children were then given a brief media literacy training session and retested on the ability to identify embedded online advertising. Only 23% of children were initially able to identify the purpose of branded games as advertising. Recognition of embedded ads within advergames increased 33% and recognition of branded advergames as advertising rather than as entertainment increased 26% following a single, brief media literacy training session. Initially, older children were able to recognize online advertising more readily than younger ones, but that difference leveled when both groups were exposed to media literacy training.