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The definition of abuse: use (something) to bad effect or for a bad purpose; misuse. Advertising exists to get consumers to spend their money on a product they

by LitFan 8y ago

The definition of abuse: use (something) to bad effect or for a bad purpose; misuse. Advertising exists to get consumers to spend their money on a product they don't need (or a particular brand of a product they do need). The argument is that if they're inspiring you to give them your money for something you don't need (in most cases, tricking you into thinking you do need it) that's abuse.

andrewla 8y ago
Like I said, a pretty wild definition. Is it abuse if one of my coworkers buys a BMW? I mean, the intended use of a car is to drive, not to make me want to buy one for myself. By this definition, isn't selling a product that people don't need a worse offense? We should put all those toy manufacturers and restaurants and luxury car makers and fashion designers and barbers and perfume makers out of business. I'm just overreacting to a rhetorical device, I know. I don't like advertising, and I express that preference in by preferring no ads where possible, but rarely am I willing to pay money up front to remove them. My intolerance of ads is not unbounded; in most places my intolerance is worth less than a dollar. I don't think advertising is an issue that we need to address as a society. The particular issue of advertising in children's games is more of an annoyance than anything else -- my kids only activate ads accidentally and then have to come to me to figure out how to get out of the trap that the ad has led them into, since closing the ad can be tricky.
- LitFan 8y ago
  Your coworker buying a BMW is not abuse, but BMW causing you to want to buy one through their marketing is. Selling a product is passive. Advertising that product is active. A company selling a product is not abuse. However, stores serve as advertisements for the products they sell. I would say that such stores - and the salespeople within them - are abusive. > my kids only activate ads accidentally and then have to come to me to figure out how to get out of the trap that the ad has led them into, since closing the ad can be tricky. Advertising aside, would you agree imposing a difficult to navigate user interface is abusive? I would.
- jancsika 8y ago
  Ads that lead to a more expensive car is one thing. Ads that lead to a body image that increases the likelihood of health problems and early death is another. I think it's counterproductive to describe the very concept of advertising as abusive. Nevertheless, a large class of advertising as practiced on television, the web, and on mobile apps should be avoided. In many cases, I don't even have to venture into the realm of morality or ethics-- they just create such a bad UX (battery drain, autoplaying bullshit, interrupting content flow, double the perceived loudness of what I'm watching) that the only sensible thing for a human to do is remove ads altogether from their viewing/reading experience. It's possible to do that with only a modicum of effort, so that's what a lot of people like me will continuing doing.
  - OtterCoder 8y ago
    Cars represent $1.13 Trillion in consumer debt in the US on an asset that depreciates only slightly slower than fresh produce. Car debt contributes massively to the suppression of the middle class and is a burden many people take to their grave. Financial strain is a leading cause of divorce, and can often spur on depression, which has an immeasurable impact on both human lives and the economy at large. Cars too are oversold and abusively advertised. And it really is psychological abuse, with horrific outcomes.
pwaivers 8y ago
No you are conflating two different meanings of "abuse". The definition we should be talking about is: [verb] treat (a person or an animal) with cruelty or violence, especially regularly or repeatedly. I believe that is what the parent comment is talking about.
- geofft 8y ago
  There's a defensible argument that it is, in fact, cruel. It's just been normalized, which is a standard component of effective abuse. If you're in an abusive relationship (familial, romantic, employment, or whatever), it's pretty common to think this is how all such relationships work.
- LitFan 8y ago
  You're correct, that definition is more appropriate. Companies abuse (misuse) their power over consumers. Consumers are abused by companies through marketing. I wholly agree with my sibling commenter that it is cruel for companies to market to us with the intent of separating us from our money.

by LitFan 8y ago

andrewla 8y ago

Like I said, a pretty wild definition. Is it abuse if one of my coworkers buys a BMW? I mean, the intended use of a car is to drive, not to make me want to buy one for myself. By this definition, isn't selling a product that people don't need a worse offense? We should put all those toy manufacturers and restaurants and luxury car makers and fashion designers and barbers and perfume makers out of business. I'm just overreacting to a rhetorical device, I know. I don't like advertising, and I express that preference in by preferring no ads where possible, but rarely am I willing to pay money up front to remove them. My intolerance of ads is not unbounded; in most places my intolerance is worth less than a dollar. I don't think advertising is an issue that we need to address as a society. The particular issue of advertising in children's games is more of an annoyance than anything else -- my kids only activate ads accidentally and then have to come to me to figure out how to get out of the trap that the ad has led them into, since closing the ad can be tricky.

LitFan 8y ago
Your coworker buying a BMW is not abuse, but BMW causing you to want to buy one through their marketing is. Selling a product is passive. Advertising that product is active. A company selling a product is not abuse. However, stores serve as advertisements for the products they sell. I would say that such stores - and the salespeople within them - are abusive. > my kids only activate ads accidentally and then have to come to me to figure out how to get out of the trap that the ad has led them into, since closing the ad can be tricky. Advertising aside, would you agree imposing a difficult to navigate user interface is abusive? I would.
jancsika 8y ago
Ads that lead to a more expensive car is one thing. Ads that lead to a body image that increases the likelihood of health problems and early death is another. I think it's counterproductive to describe the very concept of advertising as abusive. Nevertheless, a large class of advertising as practiced on television, the web, and on mobile apps should be avoided. In many cases, I don't even have to venture into the realm of morality or ethics-- they just create such a bad UX (battery drain, autoplaying bullshit, interrupting content flow, double the perceived loudness of what I'm watching) that the only sensible thing for a human to do is remove ads altogether from their viewing/reading experience. It's possible to do that with only a modicum of effort, so that's what a lot of people like me will continuing doing.
- OtterCoder 8y ago
  Cars represent $1.13 Trillion in consumer debt in the US on an asset that depreciates only slightly slower than fresh produce. Car debt contributes massively to the suppression of the middle class and is a burden many people take to their grave. Financial strain is a leading cause of divorce, and can often spur on depression, which has an immeasurable impact on both human lives and the economy at large. Cars too are oversold and abusively advertised. And it really is psychological abuse, with horrific outcomes.

pwaivers 8y ago

No you are conflating two different meanings of "abuse". The definition we should be talking about is: [verb] treat (a person or an animal) with cruelty or violence, especially regularly or repeatedly. I believe that is what the parent comment is talking about.

geofft 8y ago
There's a defensible argument that it is, in fact, cruel. It's just been normalized, which is a standard component of effective abuse. If you're in an abusive relationship (familial, romantic, employment, or whatever), it's pretty common to think this is how all such relationships work.
LitFan 8y ago
You're correct, that definition is more appropriate. Companies abuse (misuse) their power over consumers. Consumers are abused by companies through marketing. I wholly agree with my sibling commenter that it is cruel for companies to market to us with the intent of separating us from our money.