English essay: What are the social impacts of advertising? Are we citizens with authentic and freely chosen lives? Or are we unconsciously being reduced to becoming merely consumers? Justify your arguments by giving examples. (250 words)

Advertising has become omnipresent in our lives. Not a day goes by without us being exposed to advertisements. Even people who live in under-developed countries are subject to them. The ‘art’ _some pretend advertising has become an ‘art’_ of advertising has conquered the world, literally; It is everywhere. But what are the impacts of advertising? More precisely, what are the social impacts of advertising?

The most common answer we get from people when asked if they are influenced by ads is “Oh, I’m not influenced at all by ads. They don’t have an impact on how I choose to live my life.” Such answers are usually lies. Indeed, as Jean Kilbourne, specialist in ads, says “We often hear that from people who wear Gap.” How could we not be influenced by ads if they are constantly being exposed to us? How could they not influence our lifestyle? The food we eat, the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, almost everything we buy come from choices resulting from an ad we saw. For instance, ads tell us smoking is cool. Although they do not say it explicitly, tobacco ads show us ‘cool’ _meaning beautiful, trendy_ people smoking. This explosion of smoking ads is not new and is not limited to ‘real ads’. Indeed, movies show us actors smoking to relax, or to simply ‘look cool’. A study asking the question ‘why did you start smoking?’ was made in 2003 and the answers were not surprising: a majority of young adolescents admitted it was because they were constantly exposed to cigarette ads.
Another proof of the ‘devastating’ influence ads has on us is the number of adolescent girls with eating disorders. Ads show us thin models and tell us what ‘beautiful’ is, leading girls to feel more and more insecure about their look.

This lifestyle