How do media and marketing influence health behaviour, and how does critical health literacy help a consumer resist harmful messages?
Analyse how media and marketing influence health behaviour and apply critical health literacy to evaluate health messages
A focused answer to the WACE Year 12 Health Studies Unit 4 content on media and marketing. Covers how advertising, social media and marketing shape health behaviour, and how critical health literacy helps consumers evaluate and resist harmful messages.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this dot point is asking
WACE expects you to explain how media influence actually works and then show the consumer skill that counters it. A strong answer identifies the technique used in the message, explains its effect on behaviour, and applies critical health literacy to evaluate and respond to it. Marks reward this applied analysis tied to the stimulus.
How media and marketing influence health behaviour
Marketing is designed to change behaviour, usually to sell a product. Techniques include emotional appeals, celebrity and influencer endorsement, associating a product with happiness, attractiveness or belonging, repetition that builds familiarity, and targeting specific audiences such as young people. Social media adds personalised advertising, influencer content that blurs the line between opinion and paid promotion, and constant exposure to curated, edited images.
These techniques shape health in several ways. They drive consumption of energy-dense food, sugary drinks, alcohol and, in some markets, tobacco and vaping products. They set body and lifestyle ideals that can harm body image, self-esteem and eating behaviour, particularly among young people. They normalise behaviours by making them appear common and desirable. In a globalised media environment, these messages reach almost everywhere, which is why this links to globalisation and health.
Positive uses of media
Media is not only a threat to health. Public health campaigns use the same channels to spread accurate prevention messages, reach large audiences quickly and shift social norms in healthy directions, such as anti-smoking or sun-safety campaigns. Reliable health information is widely available online. The challenge for the consumer is telling helpful, evidence-based content apart from persuasive marketing, which is exactly what critical health literacy provides.
Applying critical health literacy
Critical health literacy is the appraisal and action level of health literacy applied to media. A critical consumer asks who created the message and why, whether the creator is selling something or has a conflict of interest, whether the claim is supported by evidence, what technique is being used to persuade, and whether the image or lifestyle shown is realistic. Having appraised the message, the consumer decides whether to act, seeks a reliable source if unsure, and can recognise and resist manipulation. At its highest level, critical literacy also drives action on the conditions, such as supporting regulation of harmful advertising to children.
How this maps to the exam
Expect a stimulus containing an advertisement, social media post or campaign. Identify the technique used and analyse its likely effect on health behaviour. Then apply critical health literacy to evaluate the message, judging its reliability and intent and explaining how a critical consumer would respond.