Archipelago Dialogues
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Students generally turn out not to be too bothered when they see commercial messages (‘what’s the big deal?’). It is part of their daily lives, and the more commercials, billboards, etc. there are, the fewer they consciously see. Although they do see commercials, their minds do not register them actively. When you ask them: ‘tell me the commercial messages that you saw on your way to school today’, they will have difficulty giving an answer. When you mention a few examples yourself, they will remember that they did see them. So, subconsciously they are there after all. Most people will say they are not influenced by advertising, but research has shown that we all really are. Subconsciously we can be manipulated without realizing it.
Students do balk when commercials are intrusive, such as pop-ups on the Internet. If this should become the case on school computers, they would be irritated and oppose the idea of sponsored computers.