It probably isn't, but isn't that awful, too? One thing I have noticed over the last ten years is how much quieter it is in my home than my parents' house when I was growing up. Not people, but advertising. I actively notice (and reject) advertisements when I'm exposed to them today because I've largely built my habits around things that are not trying to sell things to me.

Bathing children in constant upsells and advertising seems like a really bad idea to me.

Here in Norway, advertising towards children is actually banned (at least for TV). Some channels get around this by broadcasting from other countries (ironically the ones that show the most cartoons), but at least there was a conscious effort made at one point.

> It probably isn't, but isn't that awful, too?

Sure, but it's something we've been doing for decades. And I can't really blame parents for keeping kids occupied the easy way for a few hours at a time.

Being something we've been doing for decades is no reason to continue, though.

I'm not blaming parents. This is a collective problem. We killed Joe Camel; we can kill other ads designed to mess with kids' brains, too.

It depends on what you mean by "old fashioned TV." Until the 1990's advertising for products for children primarily was structured around the "Gatekeeper Model." The advertisement was focused on selling the product to both the child and their parents. In A Christmas Story Ralphie is asking adults for the Red Ryder. He even pens an essay to provide a reasoned case. He grudgingly lives with "You'll put your eye out, kid" as having legitimacy.

In the 1990's advertisers started marketing directly to children in a different way. Recommend, Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture

https://www.amazon.com/Born-Buy-Commercialized-Consumer-Cult...

There are some pretty strict rules about advertising to kids and this is one way to fly under that radar. It is also why these people make as much money as they are.

There are limits to how much you can advertise to children on TV nowadays. It's one of the reasons Saturday morning cartoons died.

I didn't know Saturday morning cartoons had died. But surely the huge volume of content on Netflix et al played a role?

Which is outlawed in some countries (e.g. Sweden)