Advertising is a cancer on society

Discussion in 'privacy problems' started by 142395, Sep 30, 2019.

  1. 142395

    142395 Guest

    http://jacek.zlydach.pl/blog/2019-07-31-ads-as-cancer.html
     
  2. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2011
    Posts:
    9,252
    Interesting.

    As I see it, advertising = propaganda.
     
  3. 142395

    142395 Guest

    :thumb:
     
  4. Compu KTed

    Compu KTed Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 18, 2013
    Posts:
    1,411
    According to Statista in 2018 Google's ad revenue amounted to almost 116.3 billion US dollars.
    Advertising accounted for the majority of Google’s total revenue, which amounted to a total
    of 136.2 billion U.S. dollars.

    In the most recent fiscal period, advertising revenue through Google Sites made up 70.9%
    of the company's revenues.
     
  5. Reality

    Reality Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2013
    Posts:
    1,198
    What is staggering is people as a whole have not cottoned on to the malignancy and mind games inherent in advertising ages ago, but for sure it's worse now. For one thing just the way they shove ads down your throat makes it one of the most annoying things imaginable let alone all the other devious tricks they try and pull. Just like robocalls and other unsolicited nuisances I hate ads and have become resistant to them so pushing them at me is a waste of time.
     
  6. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2011
    Posts:
    9,252
    I don't answer the phone anymore, unless the number is in the system, and recognized. Otherwise, they can leave messages. Spam callers rarely do.
     
  7. Keatah

    Keatah Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2011
    Posts:
    1,029
    Advertising is utterly deadly. It makes YOU believe you need to do things like smoking, overeating, and trusting your car to bail you out via emergency stops and pedestrian avoidance. Let alone cars being advertised as partly self-driving with lane keeping and remote summoning and other such safety/convenience features" THAT DO NOT WORK in the worst situations - when you would need them the most. And AAA agrees with me 101%.

    From a technical standpoint, we are about 2-5% of the way there when it comes to self-driving fully autonomous cars. Don't let any automotive or telematics company tell you otherwise.
     
  8. 142395

    142395 Guest

    Yeah, ads are bad exploitation of psychology. I couldn't stop laughing when seeing Coca-Cola's site advertising safety of artificial sweetener (but ATST blogs who strongly oppose artificial sweetener were also laughable). Everyone can use Google Scholar to find truth, tho I think I know some "subversion of science" cases the original article discussed. And yes, your description of self-driving is right, it's a limitation comes from Sparse-modeling is still a modeling.
     
  9. Rmus

    Rmus Exploit Analyst

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2005
    Posts:
    4,020
    Location:
    California
    Omitted:
    • Not forced to look at them? Check.
    Years ago I trained myself not to look at billboards while driving. It's easy to do the same when on a web site.
    Only if you don't bother checking into what the advertising is pushing. You aren't forced to accept at face value what the advertisement states.

    It doesn't have to "corrupt the decision-making process" if you check carefully into what you want to purchase.

    -rich
     
  10. Keatah

    Keatah Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2011
    Posts:
    1,029
    But it does corrupt the decision-making process because too many people are too lazy to think for themselves.
     
  11. Reality

    Reality Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2013
    Posts:
    1,198
    @Keatah It doesn't corrupt the decision-making process for everyone and it most certainly doesn't for me, because I decided long ago I will resist any unsolicited advertising which is almost all of it. I also think it's a bit more complex than just calling people too lazy to think for themselves as a blanket statement. The underhand and devious tricks advertisers get up to to "tip the balance to get people to part with their dollars" is nothing short of despicable. I'm sure anyone who's given this a little thought could easily come up with a laundry list of ways these parasites prey on people.
     
  12. 142395

    142395 Guest

    @Rmus
    Well, that's possible if it takes obvious form of ads like billboards, web banners, TVCM, etc. Not necessarilly easy if not. Cancer tries to avoid being caught as cancer. I think it's well-known that (some of) Google or Amazon reviews are poisoned by money, there are people who accuse such shops if they found. And there are native advertising which looks normal contents at first glance. When I first read a blog called Restore Privacy, I thought it was written by a real privacy advocate. I got doubt only after I found the author modified and deleted unfavorable comments, not only mine, to his favorite services, tho I knew the author was affiliated by the service from the beginning. So I agree w/ @Reality for his last comment. I'm also trying not to think "I'm a special" or "I won't be tricked".

    Particularly problematic is health industry. Ofc drug companies advertise, but also doctors and alternative therapists too, sometimes even w/out being aware. I happened to have literacy to understand academic papers in this area, but still found it difficult to make a decision.
     
  13. Rmus

    Rmus Exploit Analyst

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2005
    Posts:
    4,020
    Location:
    California
    Agree. It takes practice!
    We have to make decisions about what we read. I do not read reviews on those two sites. There are other ways to find information about what I want to purchase.
    Congratulations for your doubting!
    For me, the solution was to find a trustworthy expert (physician) to help with decisions. I have not been disappointed. An advantage in this for me is that my private personal information (about medical needs) rests with a trusted individual.

    Advertising is part of our consumer society. We are bombarded daily. As in shopping for an advertised automobile: you have to do your homework before walking onto the car lot.

    -rich
     
  14. 142395

    142395 Guest

    Well, that's not always easy either. I had one such doctor, but as I had moved since then, I need to find another.

    I think another example is security. Most people just take what vendor - say, AV companies, MS, Google, Apple, Mozilla, Canonical, and so on - advertises as is and don't even try to find truth by objective investigation. This forum is no exception and somehow full of "battles" - why people like to "offend" or "defend" just a tool? Yup, I understand human mentality of choice bias, I myself want to feel I made a good choice or am using a good product, but that is that, I split, or at least try to split, that from facts. The biggest enemy may be mind of ourselves than advertisers, just my 2 cents tho.
     
  15. Reality

    Reality Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2013
    Posts:
    1,198
    With the thread topic in mind....

    There's a lot of variables why people actually buy what they buy, but a LOT of problems are solved by deciding you're not going to be taken in by throw away garbage or stuff you don't need, which in the end is just an encumbrance around your neck.

    Ads on billboards and the like are nothing but an eyesore on the landscape which should be banned everywhere. No one should have to deal with ads force fed down their throats, whether visually or audibly or both. Ads are pollution.

    Some of the most infuriating and annoying tricks they use are those that are audibly sped up (they actually cut space out between the words), and then compress/limit them to the max . This unnaturally squashes the volume into a zone where the overall loudness is much more in your face because there's no peaks and dips like natural conversation. And if that's not bad enough, then they repeat the same line over and over and over. These mechanisms are an assault on peoples ears AND intelligence. Any normal person would be OUTRAGED at this and do whatever is necessary to terminate the nuisance. If these knuckleheads think they're going to change my mind by annoying me so much that I'll actually go and buy their wares, they're delusional....and just this example is precisely why advertising is like a cancer on society
     
  16. Rmus

    Rmus Exploit Analyst

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2005
    Posts:
    4,020
    Location:
    California
    (my bolding)

    But not everyone is part of the "most people" group. That is the annoying thing about articles such as the one you cited: they address the misfortunes of "most people." I and my security-minded friends do the "objective investigation" you refer to. Anyone can decide to step outside of the "most people" group.

    Sometime ago I read a cute take on the Biblical story of the swine rushing down the slope, over the cliff to their death in the water. One pig stepped outside the rushing group and said, "Hmm... I don't like the looks of this." Another yelled back at him, "You radical!"

    Don't you think we have to be "radical" (adjective: especially of change or action relating to or affecting the fundamental nature of something) and question what companies put out in their advertising, "find truth by objective investigation?" (nice way of putting it!)

    What we take into our thinking is as much a privacy/security matter as is what we download onto our computer.
    Worth more than just 2 cents, Yuki!

    -rich
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2019
  17. 142395

    142395 Guest

    @Rmus
    You're right! I am ashamed of having said that, probably born from my arrogance. I'm glad to find a guy who tells me that and just wanted to say thank you before I go inactive as I have to concentrate on my study.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 19, 2019
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.