Commercial practices and mental health

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

In today’s digital age, young people around the world are increasingly exposed to online business practices that can significantly impact their mental health and well-being. To address this issue, we must look at valid measures that can protect the health of young people when it comes to business practices.

What types of business practices can impact the mental health of young people?

According to Law Insider, business practices mean any action, omission, behavior or representation, commercial communication, including advertising and marketing, by a merchant, directly related to the promotion, sale or provision of a product or service to customers.

Advertising a product or service with aggressive marketing tactics, especially those aimed at vulnerable demographics, can lead to feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, and body image issues. Social media platforms used to promote unrealistic beauty standards, a comparison culture, and cyberbullying contribute to anxiety, depression, and social isolation among young users. The recent rise of the online gaming industry, characterized by obsessive and excessive gaming, creating addictive tendencies fueled by in-game features and purchases, can often lead to addiction, poor academic performance, and social withdrawal. In 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 foods and drinks and, when targeted at a young audience, can contribute to poor eating habits, obesity and some related mental health problems, such as low self-esteem and depression. Alcohol and tobacco advertising are harbingers of euphoric exposure to glamorous representations of their consumption. This often validates and normalizes these behaviors among youth, increasing the risk of substance abuse and related mental health problems.

Globally, these business practices target young minds, from adolescent excerpts to young adults, and there is obviously a core demand on the part of their perpetrators that the pressure culminate in addiction. Unfortunately, corporations are profiting from these anomalies.

However, I think this begs the question, “Are business practices totally bad?” “Or are there ways to use them effectively? How can we harness the positive effects and control the negative ones?”

We say that knowledge is key, but I believe that the first arsenal to harness and control commercial practices will be to equip young people with critical thinking skills to discern between realistic representations and commercial manipulation on 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 an important tool.

Additionally, empowering parents with resources and guidance to navigate commercial influences and have open discussions with their children about advertising, consumerism, and media consumption will greatly contribute to the critical thinking of audiences at risk from these practices.

So what is there to do?

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 control measure, it is also strongly recommended to foster supportive environments within communities, schools, and peer groups that promote positive self-image, resilience, and healthy coping mechanisms.

There should be regulations and strict enforcement to restrict and deter advertising of harmful products aimed at young audiences, such as unhealthy foods, alcohol and tobacco. Very effective application of age restrictions on certain products and services, such as online gambling and the use of social networks, can curb the incursion of underage audiences.

It is clear that it is imperative to have regulations and guidelines in place to mitigate the negative effects while taking advantage of the positive aspects of online commerce. However, what regulations or guidelines should exist related to Internet business practices with young people?

Age verification measures are crucial to restrict access to age-inappropriate content and products. For example, 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 BBC Africa report revealed how minors in Nigeria were easily accessing gambling sites, raising concerns about the lack of effective age verification measures. Although most social media sites have a certain age to access them, the fact of the matter is that the age verification of most of these sites has not been effective as most of the underage people have used falsified ages to access them; This calls for a complete review of these sites, legislation and the implementation of innovative measures on how age verification can be more effective.

Consequently, advertising rules must be enforced to ensure the transparency and truthfulness of online advertisements aimed at young audiences.

In Africa, there have been cases of deceptive advertising tactics promoting unhealthy foods and drinks 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 protection is essential to safeguard young people’s personal information from exploitation by advertisers and technology companies. Recent incidents in Africa have highlighted the importance of strong data privacy laws to prevent the unauthorized collection and use of children’s data for targeted advertising purposes. In Kenya, for example, concerns have been raised about the lack of strong data protection laws, which has led to cases of online advertisers exploiting children’s personal information without their consent.

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