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The engine behind the modern Western economy is consumerism, and ads are both the lubricant and effuse of that engine. They eventually permeate everything they

The engine behind the modern Western economy is consumerism, and ads are both the lubricant and effuse of that engine. They eventually permeate everything they can because they always bring more money on top of whatever other revenue is made. Escaping ads means escaping consumerism. Individuals can step away from consumerism and those that do can avoid ads, but society as a whole is not going to give up on consumerism until some crisis makes it do so. Ads are not going anywhere. If you're sick of them, your escape doesn't come by innovation or revolution -- it comes by logging off and focusing on people and nature and community instead of media and markets and goods.

eevilspock 2y ago
It's not just consumerism. It's selfism, of which consumerism is a subspecies. As I wrote nine (9!) years ago on this site: Advertising is our C8. It pollutes nearly every corner of the web with deception and manipulation. It is the cause of the cancer called click-bait. It is so profitable it has given rise to factories that pump out cheap junk "content", overwhelming anything of merit on the web[1][2]. Then, to extract even more from the devil in this Faustian bargain, we invade our very customer's privacy, selling our soul twice over. Most of us avert our eyes from this moral abdication because it funds our high salaries and our get-rich-quick startup schemes[3]. Everyone seems happy with their "free" non-stick pans and waterproof boots, so why spoil the party? It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” - Upton Sinclair [1] Most people will miss this article about C8 because it doesn't stand a chance against all the ad-supported garbage. The Intercept doesn't do click-bait. Journalism, a cornerstone of democracy, is dying. This toxin analogy is sadly too accurate. [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8585237 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8585237 [3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9961761 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9961761 It's a longer comment, with a lot of replies.

eevilspock 2y ago

It's not just consumerism. It's selfism, of which consumerism is a subspecies. As I wrote nine (9!) years ago on this site: Advertising is our C8. It pollutes nearly every corner of the web with deception and manipulation. It is the cause of the cancer called click-bait. It is so profitable it has given rise to factories that pump out cheap junk "content", overwhelming anything of merit on the web[1][2]. Then, to extract even more from the devil in this Faustian bargain, we invade our very customer's privacy, selling our soul twice over. Most of us avert our eyes from this moral abdication because it funds our high salaries and our get-rich-quick startup schemes[3]. Everyone seems happy with their "free" non-stick pans and waterproof boots, so why spoil the party? It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” - Upton Sinclair [1] Most people will miss this article about C8 because it doesn't stand a chance against all the ad-supported garbage. The Intercept doesn't do click-bait. Journalism, a cornerstone of democracy, is dying. This toxin analogy is sadly too accurate. [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8585237 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8585237 [3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9961761 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9961761 It's a longer comment, with a lot of replies.