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Just because you block ads doesn't mean you are immune to advertisements. How many of your interests are shaped by media campaigns. Even if you go and choose to

Just because you block ads doesn't mean you are immune to advertisements. How many of your interests are shaped by media campaigns. Even if you go and choose to buy things based on "need" (which I doubt). How do you choose which to buy of the various things that satisfy your needs? Maybe you go to one of many consumer reporting sites? Maybe you look at reviews? How do you know those are truly unbiased, they aren't most of the time.

ilikehurdles 5y ago
Naturally, that’s true, but it wouldn’t affect my decision. If I could unilaterally ban billboard ads, I would; but the fact that certain kinds of ads are not block-able does not affect my decision to keep blocking other kinds of ads, and limiting the effectiveness of ads I can’t block. No entity has the innate right to psychologically manipulate me into contributing to its bottom line.
- friedman23 5y ago
  > Naturally, that’s true, but it wouldn’t affect my decision Your decision for what you buy or your decision to block ads? Which is completely beside the point of my comment. My point is that you are going to be manipulated whether you like it or not. That cute Bernie Sanders slogan, that "Eat the rich" slogan, all the beautiful art produced by your favorite political cause, it's all psychological manipulation by your definition (and it is). And by that point, all human interaction is manipulation.
foxfluff 5y ago
I've seen a comment like this quite a few times now and I am curious: what exactly is the goal of pointing out that advertisement affects your life somehow, to someone who said they can't think of a relevant ad? It's not like they claimed they're immune to advertisement. They just can't think of a relevant ad, and I'm in the same boat, unless you twist the implied definition of "an ad" enough; a common trait for these threads is to start attacking the "marketing doesn't affect me" straw man, which is of course easy to attack when you go down the everything is marketing line of thought.
- friedman23 5y ago
  > It's not like they claimed they're immune to advertisement. > The idea of buying something based on an advertisement and not a need is foreign to me. My point is that despite believing they have not bought something based on an advertisement, they have in all likelihood.
  - foxfluff 5y ago
    Quite likely, if you twist the implied meaning of "an ad" enough. I'd take it for granted that zwkrt is not talking about reviews and glowing endorsements and sponsored videos or placement on store shelves or .. you get the idea. They're talking about ads! The crap that surrounds the real so-called content when you try to read an article without an adblocker. The nonsense that interrupts a movie on TV (or any video on YouTube) every three minutes. The trash results that gets a special place in front of all the other trash when you search on Google. All unsolicited, not sought for. I'd say if uBlock Origin doesn't block it, then it likely isn't an ad in the sense zwkrt means? Buying something after seeking out reviews and seeing one that was biased and paid for could happen but it's not necessarily happening to everyone, and it's probably not what the fellow upstream meant when they said they find buying things based on an advertisement foreign.
GekkePrutser 5y ago
I wonder.. I don't think that applies to everyone. Most of the stuff I buy is either commodity (clothes, always the same t-shirts, pants, shoes, my colleagues joke it's my 'uniform'), food, or weird-ass stuff that nobody advertises for. Like second hand computers or electronic components to build cool stuff. And reviews I usually get in depth from other users on tech forums like XDA and local ones. Before I buy a phone I know pretty much every little thing there is to know about it :) Not just the gloss, all the annoying bugs too. The only thing I buy that's really advertising sensitive is games I think. Or some hacker/maker stuff you'd see on hackaday. I know advertising affects me. But I'm pretty certain not a lot of my purchasing is driven by advertising.

ilikehurdles 5y ago

Naturally, that’s true, but it wouldn’t affect my decision. If I could unilaterally ban billboard ads, I would; but the fact that certain kinds of ads are not block-able does not affect my decision to keep blocking other kinds of ads, and limiting the effectiveness of ads I can’t block. No entity has the innate right to psychologically manipulate me into contributing to its bottom line.

friedman23 5y ago
> Naturally, that’s true, but it wouldn’t affect my decision Your decision for what you buy or your decision to block ads? Which is completely beside the point of my comment. My point is that you are going to be manipulated whether you like it or not. That cute Bernie Sanders slogan, that "Eat the rich" slogan, all the beautiful art produced by your favorite political cause, it's all psychological manipulation by your definition (and it is). And by that point, all human interaction is manipulation.

foxfluff 5y ago

I've seen a comment like this quite a few times now and I am curious: what exactly is the goal of pointing out that advertisement affects your life somehow, to someone who said they can't think of a relevant ad? It's not like they claimed they're immune to advertisement. They just can't think of a relevant ad, and I'm in the same boat, unless you twist the implied definition of "an ad" enough; a common trait for these threads is to start attacking the "marketing doesn't affect me" straw man, which is of course easy to attack when you go down the everything is marketing line of thought.

friedman23 5y ago
> It's not like they claimed they're immune to advertisement. > The idea of buying something based on an advertisement and not a need is foreign to me. My point is that despite believing they have not bought something based on an advertisement, they have in all likelihood.
- foxfluff 5y ago
  Quite likely, if you twist the implied meaning of "an ad" enough. I'd take it for granted that zwkrt is not talking about reviews and glowing endorsements and sponsored videos or placement on store shelves or .. you get the idea. They're talking about ads! The crap that surrounds the real so-called content when you try to read an article without an adblocker. The nonsense that interrupts a movie on TV (or any video on YouTube) every three minutes. The trash results that gets a special place in front of all the other trash when you search on Google. All unsolicited, not sought for. I'd say if uBlock Origin doesn't block it, then it likely isn't an ad in the sense zwkrt means? Buying something after seeking out reviews and seeing one that was biased and paid for could happen but it's not necessarily happening to everyone, and it's probably not what the fellow upstream meant when they said they find buying things based on an advertisement foreign.

GekkePrutser 5y ago

I wonder.. I don't think that applies to everyone. Most of the stuff I buy is either commodity (clothes, always the same t-shirts, pants, shoes, my colleagues joke it's my 'uniform'), food, or weird-ass stuff that nobody advertises for. Like second hand computers or electronic components to build cool stuff. And reviews I usually get in depth from other users on tech forums like XDA and local ones. Before I buy a phone I know pretty much every little thing there is to know about it :) Not just the gloss, all the annoying bugs too. The only thing I buy that's really advertising sensitive is games I think. Or some hacker/maker stuff you'd see on hackaday. I know advertising affects me. But I'm pretty certain not a lot of my purchasing is driven by advertising.