Our local newspaper is free to read. It sells advertising. Its advertisers are trying to reach a specific demographic. But they do not know every reader's shoe

Our local newspaper is free to read. It sells advertising. Its advertisers are trying to reach a specific demographic. But they do not know every reader's shoe size, car problems, diet prefs, etc. I am reminded of watching Geritol ads as a youth. That was the price of enjoying The Lawrence Welk show. Saturday cartoons were paid for by Tony the Tiger. TV commercials were broadcast at a significantly higher volume than the content they were embedded into. They knew you were leaving the room during the commercial breaks. I think that most people don't mind that level of targeting or the printed ads in a newspaper. I agree with you that it becomes intolerable when the advertiser gets to know if you personally are leaving the room to run to the fridge or to run to the bathroom.