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So the reason I block ads, or at least started is a book I read called Pre-suasion by Robert Caldini. In it he points out that internet ads are dismissed and ig

by hpoe 6y ago

So the reason I block ads, or at least started is a book I read called Pre-suasion by Robert Caldini. In it he points out that internet ads are dismissed and ignored by our conscious mind but because of that often will produce an effect on our unconscious mind. Think like the subliminal messaging type thing. People who were shown Kodiak ads on a webpage in an experiment couldn't recall seeing any Kodiak ads simply because we are so used to internet ads we ignore them; however later for the subjects favored purchasing a Kodiak camera over competitors products. The books final chapter concluded by explaining an experiment they did where simply by showing a particular image in the background, combined with a spaced follow up and increased incentive, they were able to sucessfully manipulate people's political and voting preferences in a manner that lasted over a year. I decided at that point no one gets to screw with my subconscious but my immense amount of childhood trauma. In my mind every other reason pales in comparison to this one for why I adblock and put it on my wife's computer, and every computer a family member owns.

sergiotapia 6y ago
It's our responsibility as parents in tech to teach our children to block all ads. My son hasn't browser the web without an adblocker, ever. I showed him what his favorite sites look like without an adblocker and he was really surprised.
- collyw 6y ago
  Is it? Who will pay for the internet then? I almost feel guilty for blocking them in a way, I appreciate that we need to have some naive users to fund stuff. Some smarter sites ask you to voluntarily unblock their site. If its something I value I will actually do that. If it's forced upon my often I'll try and work my way around it.
  - cpill 6y ago
    yeah the old argument: this is the current pricing model how will we survive without it. see Netflix and Spotify for examples of how that works out i.e. there will be a new model once the old fat cats roll over and are replaced with new ones. The internet existed before it had ads, it will survive again without them. note that all this malicious activity is _because_ money has been introduced to the ecosystem.
  - fivre 6y ago
    Not the ad companies, and I'm not sure I'll miss the ad-funded internet. The internet services I use most often and enjoy are either paid or are essentially nonprofits. The ad-funded internet seems to largely churn out a wealth of low-effort content mill sites polluting Google results. I won't mourn their death in the slightest.
    - frosted-flakes 6y ago
      This made me stop and think: what services do I use frequently that are supported by ads? Honestly, not much. Search engines (DuckDuckGo), YouTube, Outlook.com email, a couple of non-traditional news sites (Ars Technica mostly), Stack Overflow, and podcasts. HN links drive most of my browsing habits, and that kind of content tends to not have or rely on ads. And apart from YouTube, I'm mostly fine with the ads on those services. Clearly I'm not the average user, but I agree with your conclusion that most ads and the services they support can die in a dumpster fire and I won't care.
EForEndeavour 6y ago
Your imperfect recall of the brand name "Kodak" makes your cautionary message about the insidious effects of ads deliciously ironic. Or is that repeated misspelling actually part of an astroturf campaign to ensure that the notoriously detail-oriented minds of Hacker News readers latch onto the apparent typo, firmly embedding it in the forefront of awareness?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
abdullahkhalids 6y ago
Totally agreed. Ads compromising my brain is far more dangerous to me than ads compromising my computer. The effect of modern ads on individuals and society are tremendously negative.
flukus 6y ago
Even without the psychology, advertisers aren't charities giving money away as many people seem to believe, they want a return on their investment and that return comes from users giving them money. Manipulating you into giving them money is the sole reason that 99% of ads exist and if it didn't work there would be no ads. > however later for the subjects favored purchasing a Kodiak camera over competitors products. Even worse is that when they were purchasing the camera the cost of the ads was embedded in that price. They weren't just manipulated into buying that brand, they paid for the manipulation itself. I now make a conscious effort to avoid advertised products, at least the ones in meatspace where there are no ad blockers. I can't wait for the day that AR is advanced enough to let me block them too.

by hpoe 6y ago

sergiotapia 6y ago

It's our responsibility as parents in tech to teach our children to block all ads. My son hasn't browser the web without an adblocker, ever. I showed him what his favorite sites look like without an adblocker and he was really surprised.

collyw 6y ago
Is it? Who will pay for the internet then? I almost feel guilty for blocking them in a way, I appreciate that we need to have some naive users to fund stuff. Some smarter sites ask you to voluntarily unblock their site. If its something I value I will actually do that. If it's forced upon my often I'll try and work my way around it.
- cpill 6y ago
  yeah the old argument: this is the current pricing model how will we survive without it. see Netflix and Spotify for examples of how that works out i.e. there will be a new model once the old fat cats roll over and are replaced with new ones. The internet existed before it had ads, it will survive again without them. note that all this malicious activity is _because_ money has been introduced to the ecosystem.
- fivre 6y ago
  Not the ad companies, and I'm not sure I'll miss the ad-funded internet. The internet services I use most often and enjoy are either paid or are essentially nonprofits. The ad-funded internet seems to largely churn out a wealth of low-effort content mill sites polluting Google results. I won't mourn their death in the slightest.
  - frosted-flakes 6y ago
    This made me stop and think: what services do I use frequently that are supported by ads? Honestly, not much. Search engines (DuckDuckGo), YouTube, Outlook.com email, a couple of non-traditional news sites (Ars Technica mostly), Stack Overflow, and podcasts. HN links drive most of my browsing habits, and that kind of content tends to not have or rely on ads. And apart from YouTube, I'm mostly fine with the ads on those services. Clearly I'm not the average user, but I agree with your conclusion that most ads and the services they support can die in a dumpster fire and I won't care.

EForEndeavour 6y ago

Your imperfect recall of the brand name "Kodak" makes your cautionary message about the insidious effects of ads deliciously ironic. Or is that repeated misspelling actually part of an astroturf campaign to ensure that the notoriously detail-oriented minds of Hacker News readers latch onto the apparent typo, firmly embedding it in the forefront of awareness?

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

abdullahkhalids 6y ago

Totally agreed. Ads compromising my brain is far more dangerous to me than ads compromising my computer. The effect of modern ads on individuals and society are tremendously negative.

flukus 6y ago

Even without the psychology, advertisers aren't charities giving money away as many people seem to believe, they want a return on their investment and that return comes from users giving them money. Manipulating you into giving them money is the sole reason that 99% of ads exist and if it didn't work there would be no ads. > however later for the subjects favored purchasing a Kodiak camera over competitors products. Even worse is that when they were purchasing the camera the cost of the ads was embedded in that price. They weren't just manipulated into buying that brand, they paid for the manipulation itself. I now make a conscious effort to avoid advertised products, at least the ones in meatspace where there are no ad blockers. I can't wait for the day that AR is advanced enough to let me block them too.