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I see that as eleven billion dollars of damage done to the mental health of children.

dvngnt_ 3y ago
I don't. wouldn't the ad itself have to be harmful to mental health? maybe if it was for plastic surgery. or if Kim K did a sponsored post for diet tea
- hanniabu 3y ago
  brain rot
- nonrandomstring 3y ago
  > wouldn't the ad itself have to be harmful to mental health? No, the mere presence of the advertisement is sufficient harm to a person without capacity to understand the difference between what they need, what they want, and what other people want of them.
  - dvngnt_ 3y ago
    I'm certainly against ads, but I'm not convinced that an ad is inherently damaging to mental health. seeing an ad for 5 gum probably won't harm a developing teen. seeing a celebrity live a lifestyle you will never have and look 'better' than you ever will might. though using revanced and the IG equivalent certainly is a QoL improvement, but I don't think my doctor will prescribe pihole to improve my mental health
    - munk-a 3y ago
      At this point I'm pretty convinced that ads are damaging to mental health (at least the ones we see today). Modern advertising normalizes consumerism, drives down our attention span, and overloads us with blinking lights and exciting sounds causing us to, IMO, existing in a much higher general state of stress than previous generations. I'm no mental health professional but I suspect this period of advertising will be looked back on in a similar way to leeching and leaded gasoline.
      - dvngnt_ 3y ago
        the potential is there but everything said could also be said about a generic post on IG or a sponsored post which is a different type of ad not tracked here. IG is a cesspool but not because of the ads. look at a generic reels post and view the comments
        johnnyworker 3y ago
        To me that just condemns a lot of social media stuff too, instead of absolving ads. By now people are so used to it being done to them, they do it to each other. Where "it" is being bombarded with sophistry and stuff that sounds/feels good, but means nothing or is flat out wrong if you take a second to actually parse it. That is the saddest part for me, that people become their own abusers and celebrate it, like drug addicts, hissing at anyone who would dream of spoiling the party. To steal from George Carlin, if a modicum of thought were introduced into all that parroting and back patting, it would completely collapse.
- dahart 3y ago
  That’s what parent is saying: ads are harmful to mental health. This isn’t a new idea, and there is some evidence to back it up. https://hbr.org/2020/01/advertising-makes-us-unhappy https://hbr.org/2020/01/advertising-makes-us-unhappy https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002224298605000202 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002224298605000... https://www.jstor.org/stable/4189139 https://www.jstor.org/stable/4189139 https://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1827&context=acadfest https://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?a... Lots of people have also come up with long lists of ways that ads that seem innocuous for children still do damage over time. https://www.momjunction.com/articles/negative-side-effects-of-advertising-on-your-children_00385891/ https://www.momjunction.com/articles/negative-side-effects-o... https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/5-Unhealthy-Ways-Digital-Ads-May-Be-Targeting-Your-Child.aspx https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pa...
  - nonrandomstring 3y ago
    Thanks. Interesting resources I appreciate.
lebean 3y ago
Sure, if you equate an ad for a new Mario game for Nintendo Switch with deceptive mobile game ads featuring pregnant Spiderman and Elsa in sexually charged poses, I can see that.
- arrosenberg 3y ago
  Either way, the advertiser is poking the brain chemistry of the viewer. Obviously there are degrees of bad.
Kamq 3y ago
That seems like it would require the damage done to be equivalent to the cost of an ad (which can fluctuate wildly). That seems unlikely. I'm not going to get into if it would be higher or lower, but both of those seem way more likely than equivalency.
csa 3y ago
> I see that as eleven billion dollars of damage done to the mental health of children. I will take the over on that number. I will also suggest that the number is even larger for a similarly-sized cohort of working adults (especially younger working adults).

I don't. wouldn't the ad itself have to be harmful to mental health? maybe if it was for plastic surgery. or if Kim K did a sponsored post for diet tea

hanniabu 3y ago
brain rot
nonrandomstring 3y ago
> wouldn't the ad itself have to be harmful to mental health? No, the mere presence of the advertisement is sufficient harm to a person without capacity to understand the difference between what they need, what they want, and what other people want of them.
- dvngnt_ 3y ago
  I'm certainly against ads, but I'm not convinced that an ad is inherently damaging to mental health. seeing an ad for 5 gum probably won't harm a developing teen. seeing a celebrity live a lifestyle you will never have and look 'better' than you ever will might. though using revanced and the IG equivalent certainly is a QoL improvement, but I don't think my doctor will prescribe pihole to improve my mental health
  - munk-a 3y ago
    At this point I'm pretty convinced that ads are damaging to mental health (at least the ones we see today). Modern advertising normalizes consumerism, drives down our attention span, and overloads us with blinking lights and exciting sounds causing us to, IMO, existing in a much higher general state of stress than previous generations. I'm no mental health professional but I suspect this period of advertising will be looked back on in a similar way to leeching and leaded gasoline.
    - dvngnt_ 3y ago
      the potential is there but everything said could also be said about a generic post on IG or a sponsored post which is a different type of ad not tracked here. IG is a cesspool but not because of the ads. look at a generic reels post and view the comments
      - johnnyworker 3y ago
        To me that just condemns a lot of social media stuff too, instead of absolving ads. By now people are so used to it being done to them, they do it to each other. Where "it" is being bombarded with sophistry and stuff that sounds/feels good, but means nothing or is flat out wrong if you take a second to actually parse it. That is the saddest part for me, that people become their own abusers and celebrate it, like drug addicts, hissing at anyone who would dream of spoiling the party. To steal from George Carlin, if a modicum of thought were introduced into all that parroting and back patting, it would completely collapse.
dahart 3y ago
That’s what parent is saying: ads are harmful to mental health. This isn’t a new idea, and there is some evidence to back it up. https://hbr.org/2020/01/advertising-makes-us-unhappy https://hbr.org/2020/01/advertising-makes-us-unhappy https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002224298605000202 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002224298605000... https://www.jstor.org/stable/4189139 https://www.jstor.org/stable/4189139 https://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1827&context=acadfest https://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?a... Lots of people have also come up with long lists of ways that ads that seem innocuous for children still do damage over time. https://www.momjunction.com/articles/negative-side-effects-of-advertising-on-your-children_00385891/ https://www.momjunction.com/articles/negative-side-effects-o... https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/5-Unhealthy-Ways-Digital-Ads-May-Be-Targeting-Your-Child.aspx https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pa...
- nonrandomstring 3y ago
  Thanks. Interesting resources I appreciate.

lebean 3y ago

Sure, if you equate an ad for a new Mario game for Nintendo Switch with deceptive mobile game ads featuring pregnant Spiderman and Elsa in sexually charged poses, I can see that.

arrosenberg 3y ago
Either way, the advertiser is poking the brain chemistry of the viewer. Obviously there are degrees of bad.

Kamq 3y ago

That seems like it would require the damage done to be equivalent to the cost of an ad (which can fluctuate wildly). That seems unlikely. I'm not going to get into if it would be higher or lower, but both of those seem way more likely than equivalency.

csa 3y ago

> I see that as eleven billion dollars of damage done to the mental health of children. I will take the over on that number. I will also suggest that the number is even larger for a similarly-sized cohort of working adults (especially younger working adults).