Influencers’ Disclosures of Advertising and Responses from Youth with Varying Levels of Theory of Mind

Influencer advertising has become a multibillion-dollar industry, with young people playing a large role. While there are ethical concerns regarding targeting an audience too young to comprehend this subtle form of advertising, clear disclosures can help trigger children’s persuasion knowledge. Some influencers and sponsors have expressed concern that prominent disclosures will negatively affect their ability to persuade, but the persuasion knowledge model (PKM) suggests that when audiences perceive advertising to be informative and/or entertaining, the positive aspects can trump resistance to persuasion. The current two-study investigation therefore examines the intersection of the PKM and developmental theory (theory of mind) to determine how children (ages five to twelve years) and adolescents (ages thirteen to seventeen years) perceive influencers’ YouTube videos in the presence of varying types of disclosures. Results suggest that influencers can and should fully disclose advertising content to youth, helping to activate persuasion knowledge without harming the influencer–follower relationship. However, theory of mind emerged as much more strongly associated with activation of persuasion knowledge than any other variables, suggesting that disclosures may not be sufficient for the least mature audiences. Interestingly, aspects of persuasion knowledge were activated even without identifying the video as a form of advertising. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.