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Since I 100% stopped watching regular TV, watching shows on netflix, etc., so that even a few minutes of regular TV drives me crazy. It's the frenetic ads, the

Since I 100% stopped watching regular TV, watching shows on netflix, etc., so that even a few minutes of regular TV drives me crazy. It's the frenetic ads, the toxicity of many of the shows, and god knows what else that's crazy making. Now I know that it's actually sped up. How could that not affect someone's mental health in some way even a subtle way?

0xcafecafe 8y ago
Same here. In addition I can't stand the wild swings in volume. Baby sleeping in the other room so you set it to the lowest volume possible where you can hear. When it breaks into a commercial, the volume seems to increase by 50%
- marmot777 8y ago
  Yeah, ads playing louder than the programming's been going on for decades. Also, it's worth noting that advertisers intentionally manipulate your emotions, including fear. That can't be healthy. I'd say unobtrusive ads in search results, at the beginning of videos, etc., can be good. I'd feel grateful of Youtube switched back to front loading the ads to the point where I'd probably go out of my way to pay attention to those ads.
  - thaumasiotes 8y ago
    > it's worth noting that advertisers intentionally manipulate your emotions, including fear. That can't be healthy. I don't know that "healthy" is the concern I'd have there. All television programming intentionally manipulates your emotions. That's why people watch it. The same goes for... all other forms of entertainment, without exception.
    - marmot777 8y ago
      Sure, but I don't want to feel a fear reaction from an ad as there's nothing else satisfying about it to make that fear worth it. If I watch a good movie and feel fear but, at the same time, I'm fully absorbed in the movie for 2 hours then I've gotten my money's worth. The fear helped me understand the characters better, perhaps. In good movies the manipulation's part of making the experience better, not an end in itself (unless it's a crappy movie or show).
- icebraining 8y ago
  If you're in the US, that's now illegal, and you can file a complaint: https://www.fcc.gov/media/policy/loud-commercials https://www.fcc.gov/media/policy/loud-commercials Other countries have similar rules, complain to your regulator!
  - 0xcafecafe 8y ago
    I am in the US. However, I read somewhere that the ads are allowed to be at the level of the maximum volume in the program, which sort of muddies the waters.
    - LeftTurnSignal 8y ago
      I also think they're encoded very very poorly, compared to normal shows, which can have some nasty volume spikes.
  - kup0 8y ago
    I can't view the standard practice document linked on the page, but I'd be curious if the legislation only affects actual loudness, not perceived loudness. Even if ads and programming are the same db level, ads can easily be EQ'd to be perceived as louder

0xcafecafe 8y ago

Same here. In addition I can't stand the wild swings in volume. Baby sleeping in the other room so you set it to the lowest volume possible where you can hear. When it breaks into a commercial, the volume seems to increase by 50%

marmot777 8y ago
Yeah, ads playing louder than the programming's been going on for decades. Also, it's worth noting that advertisers intentionally manipulate your emotions, including fear. That can't be healthy. I'd say unobtrusive ads in search results, at the beginning of videos, etc., can be good. I'd feel grateful of Youtube switched back to front loading the ads to the point where I'd probably go out of my way to pay attention to those ads.
- thaumasiotes 8y ago
  > it's worth noting that advertisers intentionally manipulate your emotions, including fear. That can't be healthy. I don't know that "healthy" is the concern I'd have there. All television programming intentionally manipulates your emotions. That's why people watch it. The same goes for... all other forms of entertainment, without exception.
  - marmot777 8y ago
    Sure, but I don't want to feel a fear reaction from an ad as there's nothing else satisfying about it to make that fear worth it. If I watch a good movie and feel fear but, at the same time, I'm fully absorbed in the movie for 2 hours then I've gotten my money's worth. The fear helped me understand the characters better, perhaps. In good movies the manipulation's part of making the experience better, not an end in itself (unless it's a crappy movie or show).
icebraining 8y ago
If you're in the US, that's now illegal, and you can file a complaint: https://www.fcc.gov/media/policy/loud-commercials https://www.fcc.gov/media/policy/loud-commercials Other countries have similar rules, complain to your regulator!
- 0xcafecafe 8y ago
  I am in the US. However, I read somewhere that the ads are allowed to be at the level of the maximum volume in the program, which sort of muddies the waters.
  - LeftTurnSignal 8y ago
    I also think they're encoded very very poorly, compared to normal shows, which can have some nasty volume spikes.
- kup0 8y ago
  I can't view the standard practice document linked on the page, but I'd be curious if the legislation only affects actual loudness, not perceived loudness. Even if ads and programming are the same db level, ads can easily be EQ'd to be perceived as louder