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Not the OP, but I agree with the sentiment. Advertising is insidious. Since having children, I can really see how much of the economy is driven by getting them
by beart 4y ago
Not the OP, but I agree with the sentiment. Advertising is insidious. Since having children, I can really see how much of the economy is driven by getting them hooked on shit they don't need, and that is not good for them. It's the same for adults, but with different methods.
Advertising is not free money. Just this morning there was an example discussed on NPR. Magazines targeting black communities ignored any and all evidence that smoking is bad because such a large portion of their budget came from tobacco ads. This type of thing happens _all the time_.
- kite_and_code 4y agoTrying to summarize: You hope that people would only use (and find) what is good for them? Instead of things that decrease their net wellbeing in life? If this is the case, there might be other solutions e.g. teaching all people to be careful what they consume and how they consume information. Another option might of course be policy about regulating advertising e.g. forcing them to always hint the customer to a web page that compares multiple offers that achieve the same, advertised outcome but in a different way or from a different provider. At least reminding people with every ad that there are other options out there. And if, eventually, the provider of the ad has the best offering, the summary page will reinforce that. The challenge that I see is on how to create the page and who authorizes it - especially given the wild variance among preferences of individuals.