Introduction:
The digital age is here to stay, and although the positive effects are undeniable, an unfortunate side effect is that advertising has become an omnipresent force, infiltrating every corner of our online existence. The promise of a connected world has brought with it an irritating consequence: the incessant barrage of advertisements that seem to have colonized our email accounts and social media platforms.
What started as an attempt to grab our attention and our dollars, has evolved into a pervasive and relentless assault on our inboxes, side bars, and social media feeds. The evolution of advertising, and its multi-layered intrusion into our daily lives, produces the seemingly unavoidable reality of being bombarded with promotions, deals, and pitches everywhere we look.
Remember When:
Remember the days when emails were primarily a means of communication and not a breeding ground for relentless advertising? When social media was a novel and time saving way to keep up with friends and family? I remember in the late 2000’s and even into the early 2010s social media was a godsend, and saved me having to send giant group emails to my far flung friends and family with pictures of my baby. (Although admittedly, I was the far flung one.) Those days are a distant memory and a strange indicator of age, as I find myself muttering things like “I remember when emails were just for sending actual electronic mail” as I find myself sifting through a sea of promotional emails and posts on a daily basis (I’m looking at you Yahoo). The most frustrating part is that more often than not, these emails and posts are unsolicited and irrelevant, stemming from a random purchase or online search once, months ago.
As a writer researching plenty of things, even using a VPN does not shield my personal accounts from this. Evidenced by the most recent reminder that after researching brain injuries for months I was bombarded with ads for brain stuff; medical facilities, supplements, and at home devices. It was almost laughable and really brought home the fact that they just know – which is a valid reminder that we pay giant companies to carry tracking devices which we really only rent as they can disable them from afar any time they like, but that’s not my point right now.
The problem extends beyond the sheer volume of promotional content; it’s the very act of providing our email addresses for transactions or memberships that opens the floodgates. “Why do I have to give my email address to buy anything?” is a question I find myself asking whenever I’m standing in a store making a purchase. The apparent exchange of a small discount or the promise of future deals by belonging to some special club seems like a dubious trade-off for the invasion of personal space and screams for attention. In the retailer’s mind we already shopped there, so obviously we need to know about every sale, every idea, every limited edition product, every helpful hint tied to a product, everything, the urgency is crazy. Don’t miss out! Shop now! Click here! Limited time!
News flash – I don’t want to be included in anyone’s “club”. I don’t care if I “miss” a deal, don’t insult my intelligence. If I’m looking for something I want, I will find a deal. In the meantime, I do not need the opportunity to have endless advertising telling me what to buy, just sell me my stuff and let me go.
The Social Media Paradox:
Social media, originally hailed as the great connector of the digital age, has also become a hotbed for advertisers vying for our attention. Platforms that were initially designed to facilitate social interaction have transformed into marketing battlegrounds, where companies and influencers compete for the most eye-catching ad placement and engagement metrics. The ads are insidious, beautiful influencers hawking random crap you don’t want or need, or proclaiming some outrageous click bait sentence guaranteed to grab a moment of your time and attention.
I often feel like I’m desperately spinning the wheel of destiny in my effort to find an actual human I know that has posted anything in my social media feeds. I find I usually give up and put my phone down instead, especially when I catch myself just scrolling and scrolling, looking for a human’s post…so, maybe that’s not such a bad thing?
While social media promises personalized content tailored to our interests, the targeted ads that fill our feeds serve as constant reminders that our online lives are not as private as we might think. The very platforms we use to share personal moments and connect with friends have become tools for advertisers to dissect our preferences and bombard us with products and services we may or may not need. All in the name of “convenience”. Again the proof that “they” are always spying on us as we’ve all experienced talking to someone about something random and next minute there’s ads for it all over your inbox and social media feed. Don’t believe me? Try talking to someone while your phone is in your hand about Shakti Mats or something equally unusual and see what shows up on your news feed and email homepage side bars over the next few days.
The Illusion of Control:
In an attempt to regain a semblance of control over our digital domains, we employ spam blockers and meticulously curate our online experiences. However, the relentless pursuit of our attention by advertisers seems to persist, often slipping through the defenses we’ve erected.
For ease (or so I thought) in my own life, I have multiple email addresses each having a particular purpose – one for my son’s school and extracurricular stuff, one for my writing work, one I know will get spammed, a personal one, etc., however the practice of using multiple email accounts as a defense mechanism has proven to be futile over time, as even the most cautious email compartmentalization fails to shield me from the relentless onslaught. The phrase “I’m sorry it was lost in my in box” is one I find myself repeating a lot.
The irony lies in the fact that some individuals dedicate their careers to the art of advertising. Degrees are earned, strategies devised, and algorithms fine-tuned—all with the goal of infiltrating our thoughts, lives and wallets. The unintended consequence of this professional pursuit is the overwhelming sense of being duped, invaded, and ultimately powerless against the marketing machine.
Conclusion:
In a world where advertising permeates our every online interaction, it’s easy to succumb to a sense of doom. The constant battle to reclaim our digital spaces from the clutches of marketers can be exhausting, leaving us questioning the very nature of our online existence.
While the invasion of advertising may seem unavoidable, but it’s essential to remain vigilant, question the status quo, pat attention to the volume of advertising, continually adjust privacy settings, and demand a more respectful and transparent relationship with the digital world. And teach our children to do the same. In the face of this onslaught, our ability to adapt and resist may be the key to preserving the integrity of our online experiences.
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