3 ms·

For us people blessed with ADHD, ad blockers have become just as essential as ramps are for wheelchair users. I'm dead serious, getting anything done on the web

by krono 5y ago

For us people blessed with ADHD, ad blockers have become just as essential as ramps are for wheelchair users. I'm dead serious, getting anything done on the web with ads is a complete disaster. Their continued existence and unhindered operation should be legally protected. Edit: For people who might not be aware, ADHD could be seen as an executive function disorder. It's impossible on a biochemical or neurological level for me to ignore irrelevancies such as ads. Best case I get distracted (that thing I was doing... yeah not gonna happen today), worst case even make a purchase (also known as the ADHD tax, life's not cheap for us invalids). The medication is alright, but requires supplementation by things such as strict time schedules, alarms and reminders for all the things, and... ad blockers.

daniel-cussen 5y ago
Definitely. The Attention Economy is unjust to people who have less attention to pay.
Lev1a 5y ago
A Jimquisition video from today about how microtransactions in video games etc. can also be understood as specifically preying on those with ADHD and other conditions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH2SjNeYq8k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH2SjNeYq8k
LadyCailin 5y ago
I have specifically gone out of my way to maintain a grease monkey script that hides all sorts of things from Facebook. Ads, yes, but also all the other “people you may know”, “suggested for you” and other garbage. It has substantially reduced the time I spend on Facebook, because it’s a lot harder for me to get sucked in, while still allowing me to see the things my actual friends are posting, rather than a post from a company that my friend liked.
- timbit42 5y ago
  Have you looked at FBPurity? It does all that and more.
cabalamat 5y ago
> [ad blockers]' continued existence and unhindered operation should be legally protected I love that idea
ycken 5y ago
> as essential as ramps are for wheelchair users Imagine a world where 93% of people used wheelchairs all the time; there would be no stairs Imagine a world where 93% of people have the Hunter or Edison Gene, no one would have flashy things on webpages, ads or otherwise. That would also mean more than 10 times as many people with amazing creativity and insight and many fewer people who are willing to do the same thing over and over and over and over like 93% of the people in this world. We likely would have found ways to eliminate drudgery for most tasks. Perhaps we would live in a happier world where people were more fulfilled. @krono, living with the Hunter Gene in a world built for people with the Farmer Gene does not mean you have a problem, dysfunction, affliction, malady, sickness, infirmity, disability, defect, or disorder but does mean you must adapt to a world built for others. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Celebrate and build on your strengths, mitigate your weaknesses as we all should. Edison Genes [0] Although ADHD is often described by the problems it presents, several recent studies (see here, here, and here) have reaffirmed other potential advantages linked to the ADHD diagnosis, namely — the ability to think more creatively, and entrepreneurial orientation (EO). ADHD has been linked to three aspects of creative cognition, namely: divergent thinking, conceptual expansion, and overcoming existing knowledge constraints. [0] https://medium.com/welded-thoughts/adhd-the-return-of-the-hunter-fb203cf580a5 https://medium.com/welded-thoughts/adhd-the-return-of-the-hu...
- krono 5y ago
  The blind often have an exceptionally developed sense of hearing. Don't you think they'd much rather just have the ability to see? These strengths do exist, but are completely wiped off the table and then some by the unimaginable negative impact that these brain function incompatibilities have on daily life. And then on top of that Google announces they're going to sabotage your accessible toilets and steal your crutches.
  - ycken 5y ago
    Living in a world designed and geared towards others is always going to be harder. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was not born with nor had any dysfunction, affliction, malady, sickness, infirmity, disability, defect, or disorder that caused him to grow to 7’ 2” tall but if you asked him, other than basketball, how easy was it for him to fit into a world built and geared for people well shorter than him, I’m sure he will explain how difficult it is whether it’s fitting into a seat on a bus or a plane or finding pants or shoes that fit. No one would refer to him as having a disorder; he’s just much, much taller than most people. How your brain focuses on tasks or filters stimulating inputs is not a disorder. Embrace that diversity that is you. < https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/neurodiversity https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/neurodiversity > Neurodiversity refers to the idea that neurological differences, such as those seen in autism or ADHD, reflect normal variations in brain development. Neurodiversity is often contrasted with the “medical model,” which views conditions like autism or ADHD as disorders to prevent, treat, or cure. There has been a push to move away from this idea of pathology and more toward a more nuanced perspective with variations of what is “normal.”
greggturkington 5y ago
This is known as "cognitive accessibility" and often neglected. MDN has a good writeup on it and mentions ADHD specifically. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Accessibility/Cognitive_accessibility https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Accessibility/C...
- krono 5y ago
  These guidelines are great but none mitigate the disruptiveness and other negative impacts of today's hostile web. It's not like I'm looking away from my monitor every 5 seconds and then completely forget where I am or what I was doing. Understanding the content is also not an issue. The real problem is the insidiousness of the advertisements themselves.

by krono 5y ago

daniel-cussen 5y ago

Definitely. The Attention Economy is unjust to people who have less attention to pay.

Lev1a 5y ago

A Jimquisition video from today about how microtransactions in video games etc. can also be understood as specifically preying on those with ADHD and other conditions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH2SjNeYq8k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH2SjNeYq8k

LadyCailin 5y ago

I have specifically gone out of my way to maintain a grease monkey script that hides all sorts of things from Facebook. Ads, yes, but also all the other “people you may know”, “suggested for you” and other garbage. It has substantially reduced the time I spend on Facebook, because it’s a lot harder for me to get sucked in, while still allowing me to see the things my actual friends are posting, rather than a post from a company that my friend liked.

timbit42 5y ago
Have you looked at FBPurity? It does all that and more.

cabalamat 5y ago

> [ad blockers]' continued existence and unhindered operation should be legally protected I love that idea

ycken 5y ago

> as essential as ramps are for wheelchair users Imagine a world where 93% of people used wheelchairs all the time; there would be no stairs Imagine a world where 93% of people have the Hunter or Edison Gene, no one would have flashy things on webpages, ads or otherwise. That would also mean more than 10 times as many people with amazing creativity and insight and many fewer people who are willing to do the same thing over and over and over and over like 93% of the people in this world. We likely would have found ways to eliminate drudgery for most tasks. Perhaps we would live in a happier world where people were more fulfilled. @krono, living with the Hunter Gene in a world built for people with the Farmer Gene does not mean you have a problem, dysfunction, affliction, malady, sickness, infirmity, disability, defect, or disorder but does mean you must adapt to a world built for others. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Celebrate and build on your strengths, mitigate your weaknesses as we all should. Edison Genes [0] Although ADHD is often described by the problems it presents, several recent studies (see here, here, and here) have reaffirmed other potential advantages linked to the ADHD diagnosis, namely — the ability to think more creatively, and entrepreneurial orientation (EO). ADHD has been linked to three aspects of creative cognition, namely: divergent thinking, conceptual expansion, and overcoming existing knowledge constraints. [0] https://medium.com/welded-thoughts/adhd-the-return-of-the-hunter-fb203cf580a5 https://medium.com/welded-thoughts/adhd-the-return-of-the-hu...

krono 5y ago
The blind often have an exceptionally developed sense of hearing. Don't you think they'd much rather just have the ability to see? These strengths do exist, but are completely wiped off the table and then some by the unimaginable negative impact that these brain function incompatibilities have on daily life. And then on top of that Google announces they're going to sabotage your accessible toilets and steal your crutches.
- ycken 5y ago
  Living in a world designed and geared towards others is always going to be harder. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was not born with nor had any dysfunction, affliction, malady, sickness, infirmity, disability, defect, or disorder that caused him to grow to 7’ 2” tall but if you asked him, other than basketball, how easy was it for him to fit into a world built and geared for people well shorter than him, I’m sure he will explain how difficult it is whether it’s fitting into a seat on a bus or a plane or finding pants or shoes that fit. No one would refer to him as having a disorder; he’s just much, much taller than most people. How your brain focuses on tasks or filters stimulating inputs is not a disorder. Embrace that diversity that is you. < https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/neurodiversity https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/neurodiversity > Neurodiversity refers to the idea that neurological differences, such as those seen in autism or ADHD, reflect normal variations in brain development. Neurodiversity is often contrasted with the “medical model,” which views conditions like autism or ADHD as disorders to prevent, treat, or cure. There has been a push to move away from this idea of pathology and more toward a more nuanced perspective with variations of what is “normal.”

greggturkington 5y ago

This is known as "cognitive accessibility" and often neglected. MDN has a good writeup on it and mentions ADHD specifically. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Accessibility/Cognitive_accessibility https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Accessibility/C...

krono 5y ago
These guidelines are great but none mitigate the disruptiveness and other negative impacts of today's hostile web. It's not like I'm looking away from my monitor every 5 seconds and then completely forget where I am or what I was doing. Understanding the content is also not an issue. The real problem is the insidiousness of the advertisements themselves.