Is advertising good for society?

Through the debate topics on whether or not advertising is good for our society I was surprised to see that the majority of my group mates and peers felt the same way about advertisements in our society. Some felt that advertisements were good for things like informing about new health trends, diets, and hygiene friendly topics. They also felt that things such as nutrition facts on boxes and health facts on packages of tobacco are good for our society to know in order to make educated decisions about  their bodies. I in particular felt and still feel that advertising can make a person want more then what they need and have. I believe in the want and the necessity. You want the latest and greatest but the necessity is to use what you’ve had. For example I’ve recently entered the Ipod era and I must admit I am very fascinated by all of the tools the Ipod comes with but the only reason I upgraded from an Mp3 player to an Ipod is because the scroll on my Mp3 player cease to work after four years of use. The same thing with my phone it started to die out of the blue so I upgraded. So, all of these commercials about trades and upgrades seem so frivolous to me. I think why go get the latest and greatest when there is always going to be something to come. So, this discussion opened my eyes to the view s that were carried on advertising and technology. In the textbook the yes argument by John Calfee argue that advertising is good for the consumer. Advertising helps the consumer to make better informed decisions. The no argument by Dinyar Godrej argues that advertising doesn’t tell us anything new about products and that it creates anxiety if we do not buy the products that are advertised.