Everything that makes advertisers happy is to the detriment of humanity as a whole. Everything that makes advertisers’ jobs easier also makes it easier for authoritarian governments. “Innovation” is no longer about creating new things, it’s about taking what already works, breaking it, shoving ads on it and charging a ransom in the form of a premium subscription.

On the other hand, there are endless ad-skipping tools, pages and sites where the main attraction is the lack of ads without a subscription. More and more people are talking about how intrusive and annoying ads are, even those who make their living from them. As the efforts of big tech to please advertisers grow, so do the efforts of ordinary people to screw them.

Very Cyberpunk.

  • UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml
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    14 hours ago

    People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you.

    You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.

    Fuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.

    You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs.

    – Banksy

    • avattar@lemmy.sdf.org
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      5 hours ago

      It’s that…the reason we are so dissatisfied with our lives? We may not even pay attention to most adverts, but subconsciously, they affect us and make us fell unhappy?

      • Guns0rWeD13@lemmy.world
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        3 hours ago

        hi. you must be new here. welcome to capitalism, consumerism, and the modern dystopia. what will you be doing to destroy it?

      • zebidiah@lemmy.ca
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        4 hours ago

        yep, it’s a psychological attack (on your subconscious) to create unrealistic expectations and feelings of inadequacy among consumers who do not experience the same outcomes.

        whether you pay attention to it or not, it’s still a psychic attack

        • avattar@lemmy.sdf.org
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          3 hours ago

          I think that is literally, objectively evil. How can we fight back? I already use adblocks online, that is one way, I think.

          • witten@lemmy.world
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            2 hours ago

            Stop giving your money to the giant companies that fund and perpetuate surveillance ad tech. Shop local.