How filtering TV ads can stifle negative influence on your child

Children are impressionable. With the amount of time they spend watching TV, it’s safe to assume that a high percentage of influence on children comes from what they see on the screen, including commercials. Studies are showing that greater exposure to alcohol advertisements leads to increased underage drinking. As such, it seems like the right time to find ways to protect the rising generation from digital messaging that can negatively impact their future. Luckily, one software company in Utah is offering a solution.

Filtrie, a Salt Lake City-based software company, has developed a way for parents to filter out ads on television that they deem inappropriate for their children. This new technology gives individuals unprecedented control to cater the ads viewed in their homes to personal interests, beliefs, and lifestyles.

Filtrie’s revolutionary approach surveys how each individual’s household views ads. Instead of relying on out-of-date, door-to-door questioning to gather commercial data, Filtrie uses real-time algorithms to understand the target audience at any given time. In other words, the software knows if it’s just mom and dad watching their favorite late-night sitcom or if a child is present in the room—the ads will change accordingly.

Children are easily influenced by what they see on TV, and it’s not only alcohol ads that parents should be concerned about. A child’s exposure to junk food ads can mold unhealthy eating habits, and seeing an ad for lingerie might bring about questions meant for later years. Filtrie will empower parents to make these judgment calls with the click of a button. Best of all, Filtrie is a free, opt-in service that will be coming available in the next few months. For more information, visit http://www.filtrie.com/.