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The evolving media ecosystem underscores the pressing need for media literacy within the population. Numerous academic research initiatives typically focus on competencies such as mobile device management and the identification of fake news on social networks, among others. This paper seeks to uncover how academic research tackles advertising literacy, a facet of media literacy that promotes the development of critical consumers. Advertising literacy is increasingly recognised as a crucial competency in today's world, given the ubiquity of advertising messages and their potential to influence purchasing decisions, worldviews, and cultural perceptions. A systematic review was conducted, drawing on both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, of articles on the topic published in Social Science academic journals indexed in Scopus. Significant findings suggest that advertising literacy has been a subject of analysis for over three decades, and that journals publishing on this topic, along with the affiliations of authors, are predominantly based in Europe and the United States. Additionally, it was observed that applied research, especially surveys and experiments, has superseded theoretical research in the analysis of this subject. The studies practical implications, alongside their theoretical contributions, are noteworthy. The conclusion drawn suggests that advertising literacy is a research area with substantial growth potential, warranting the attention of the educational and media industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Research on how children process advertising is still in its infancy. This article reviews the published academic literature on advertising literacy and children. The aim is to offer an updated view of how this subject has been studied in the last decade, a term used to refer to children's skills and abilities to deal with advertising. Methodology: 105 articles indexed in the Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus databases between 2010-2022 were analysed. Results: only three authors have published more than a dozen papers on this topic, with two European universities (one Belgian and one Dutch) concentrating their scientific production. The year in which the most papers were published was 2020 and the main journals that published these papers belong to the fields of communication, marketing and psychology. The main tool for this research was the survey. Discussion: the review yielded six lines of research: advertising literacy programmes and minors facing new formats; influence of food advertising; influencer marketing and influencers; purchasing decisions; identification of advertising and privacy. Conclusions: the article provides proposals for future research on advertising literacy and children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]