The placebo effect of the visuals of the products advertised through mass media is so high that people are ready to spend lavishly. The media provides ample grounds for the growth of these healthcare-cum-cosmetic products.

Exaggeration of pseudo perfection leads to the development of the so called mask of cosmetic world. An advertisement for a slimming product features a slim girl climbing the stairs with ease, literally running, and a stout woman taking deep breaths and unable to climb. The slim girl then recommends the product which she says she has been using to maintain herself. It is obvious that the girl is unmarried and the woman is a mother. It is a natural process that any girl when transformed to a mother has physical changes. Except for fitness equipment manufacturers, none propagates workouts as a solution.

Another common scene in commercials is a husband who pays little attention to the wife a few years after marriage and as she starts using an anti-ageing product he plans for a second honeymoon giving a wrong sense of marriage. It appears all about heading towards an Utopia of ever young people. These commercials have a long-term effect on the younger generations. Grooming oneself is not bad. But it is the concept adopted to advertise their products that is not just artificial but against nature itself.

Teenagers and vicenarians with pads around their waists pose for maternity products leaving back the minds of men biased. I know of a husband who used to grab his pregnant wife’s plate comparing her physique with those in the commercials and media, threatening to quit her if she gained weight. The poor women used to go starving even during the gestation period and the net result was an underweight baby.

A tall child mocks a shorter one and recommends a health drink. Not only are these products unaffordable to many, but implant poisonous seeds in blooming minds that physical appearance is all that matters. I know of kids who mock their classmates as poor, for bringing home-made food, unlike them coming with processed instant foods for lunch to school.

The worst commercials are those portraying girls not getting married because of their complexion. Fair complexion is a craze that has driven us living in a tropical country deficit of Vitamin D, which helps in prevention of cancer too as per recent studies. Good looks can add to confidence, but it depends on individual preferences. An aquaintance, a very beautiful woman avoids social gatherings just because she is not comfortable with English. On the contrary a person with a good looking well educated wife leads a lonely life feeling inferior creating doubts whether external beauty add on as an asset.

On the other hand when media propagates the dangers lurking behind usage of refined blanched products, it also broadcasts commercials of food items made from such products. When I tried refraining my son in primary class from consuming such eatables, his reply left me clueless. His argument was, “If such products are harmful how will commercials promote them?” That then is placebo effect.

How many ever attempts parents make to correct the mistakes of their children, the little ones stick on to only what their teacher instructs them. Like teachers are those in authority and media deciding things, be they right or wrong.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author’s own.