I'm doing the same as paulcole. If I already want to buy things, like a new table for my living room or new tiles for my bathroom, then I do want to see what's

I'm doing the same as paulcole. If I already want to buy things, like a new table for my living room or new tiles for my bathroom, then I do want to see what's on the market beyond my bubble. That's not because I'm manipulated into buying them[1]. If I see a new ad and I like it, I do check if I can get same product for a cheaper price from a company who's ad budget is not baked into the price. Basically I can use targeted ads as a free product discovery engine. Seeing an ad doesn't mean I'm going to mindlessly buy it. I know some people do that, but there's a way to make use of the situation. [1] there might be an evil conspiracy among kitchen table manufacturing companies who teamed up with Hollywood producers to sell me the idea that I want a loft style new kitchen table :)