One thing I miss from paper newspapers was the placement of ads based on content on the page. So, for example, if I was looking at the calendar of theater event

One thing I miss from paper newspapers was the placement of ads based on content on the page. So, for example, if I was looking at the calendar of theater events, or theater reviews, the page would be plastered with ads for performing arts events. It made a lot of sense. They weren't targeted to me as an individual, they were targeted to a reader interested in theater. They weren't off the wall ads about random things, they were focused on what the person might be looking for. This piece reminded me of this mainly because it shouldn't happen. Not just because it's annoying and disgusting but because the ads should be relevant and interesting to a reader of that content. I've noticed some similar things with podcasts sometimes, where the ads seem smartly relevant to the podcast focus. But it feels like for a lot of things on the internet, that insight is lost. I wouldn't hate ads so much if they were respectful of my bandwidth, electronic and mental, and actually respected me enough as a reader to try to put something there that's of interest to me, instead of constantly acting like I'm a random person, selected at random from everyone out there. You can figure out something about me based on what I'm looking at, without tracking me or anything.