No one argues for the elimination of advertising. Instead, these media specialists advocate teaching students how to understand and deconstruct media images. The United States is one of the few countries that does not include this in education curricula. We're doing our students a real disservice if we don't teach them to become critical consumers of the media. That awareness is essential.
Discussion also lessens denial about the power of ads.
At Teen Voices, a national magazine written by and for young women, resistance to negative images runs strong. Every July, Dines conducts a week-long institute at Wheelock College, open to teachers, parents, and others interested in the media. Participants learn to teach children about media images. In her college classes, she sees immediate results as students deconstruct ads critically. Dines encourages mass boycotts of the media and widespread refusals to buy offending magazines and the products they advertise.