A recent study on Web usability indicates that children may account for a significant proportion of Web advertising click-through traffic.
The study, conducted by Nielsen Norman Group (NNG), found that children were likely click on Web advertising, having difficulty distinguishing it from regular content.
"The most notable finding of our study was that children click the advertisements on Web sites. Unfortunately they often do so by mistake, thinking ads are just one more site element," according to NNG.
NNG has published its examination of the manner in which 55 children between the ages of six and 11 interacted with Web content, in the form of a guide to building Web sites for children.
NNG recommended that parents take the time to teach their children to recognise Web ads.
"Many people help their children understand and cope with television commercials, but Web ads seem to have been overlooked in most of these educational efforts--possibly because most adults wouldn't dream of clicking on an ad on a Web site," the research group said.
While the study identifies that adults develop a facility for ignoring ads called banner blindness, colourful animations and mouse roll-overs used in Web ads draw childrens' attention.
Citing figures from Datamonitors August 2001 report, NNG said that 65.3 million children aged between five to 17 in the United States and Western Europe have access to the Internet at home, and 54.1 million have access at school.
