I'm in a similar boat re: broadcast TV. Whenever I'm in a place where I can't escape it (doctors' waiting rooms are the worst, as is the house of a certain fami

I'm in a similar boat re: broadcast TV. Whenever I'm in a place where I can't escape it (doctors' waiting rooms are the worst, as is the house of a certain family member who is a total TV junkie) I'm absolutely overwhelmed by the sudden increase in cognitive load I experience just by being in that environment. It really feels very invasive. I recently started using an adblocker. (I hate to do that to content providers who are dependent on advertising for revenue, but I don't wish to consent to being tracked by advertisers, and in light of that I've been left with little other recourse.) Since then, I've developed a similar sensation when I experience the unblocked Web. The sudden jump in noise levels is jarring, and almost feels like a form of assault. By contrast, I really don't mind subway ads. They're pervasive but easy to tune out, and I have absolutely responded to them. The most recent instance of me checking out a company I learned about from an ad on the train was a few hours ago, and I'm seriously considering purchasing their product. The article suggests a way to explain this contrast that's very plausible. It had never really occurred to me that perhaps I view advertising as this interesting sort of Veblen good. So perhaps that leads me to think of some kinds of advertising as pure noise not just because of the high noise but also because of the low signal.