https://www.reddit.com/r/simpleliving/comments/1iuy4sx/anyone_else_dislike_adds/
created by Poetic_Peanut on 21/02/2025 at 18:37 UTC*
37 upvotes, 26 top-level comments (showing 25)
I generally dislike having adds thrown at me from everywhere. I just got on an Uber and there is a screen just in front of me displaying adds changing and moving to get my attention, some even with SOUND.
Somehow I find all of that contradictory to simple living, and I’m finding they are everywhere now. But this paired which the fact that I recently had to buy a new PC and there were a lot of adds popping up in Windows 11 that I had to deactivate and somehow I still get some once in a while makes me feel like I’m living in some kind of dystopian future where even if you pay for a service/product you gotta still be pressure to buy and consume more.
Edit to add: I don’t think I wrote the best title. I wanted to discuss the aggressiveness of ads now - even when getting inside a car or while using your PC , should’ve said something like that instead.
Comment by Shot-Artichoke-4106 at 21/02/2025 at 18:47 UTC
54 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Yeah, pretty much everybody dislikes ads.
Comment by Robsteady at 21/02/2025 at 18:44 UTC
21 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I’m finding they are everywhere now.
Now?!
Comment by Whisper26_14 at 21/02/2025 at 19:02 UTC
13 upvotes, 2 direct replies
The one that gets me is at the gas station when it’s being shouted at me as I have to stand there for 5 minutes.
Comment by loveofphysics at 21/02/2025 at 18:56 UTC*
11 upvotes, 1 direct replies
That's the best, when you already pay for something but have to pay *even more* to get rid of ads. It wasn't always this bad. We're truly frogs in a simmering pot.
Comment by Dissasociaties at 21/02/2025 at 18:55 UTC
6 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Brave browser on PC or phone is pretty sweet. I pay for pandora and don't watch TV. Fairly ad free life, except for being forced to read reddit on the app to access certain subreddits.
Comment by rshogg at 21/02/2025 at 19:00 UTC
7 upvotes, 2 direct replies
YES, there is a Black Mirror episode (Season 1, ep 2, "15 Million Merits") that captures exactly this.
Description:
A satire on entertainment shows and our insatiable thirst for distraction set in a dystopian version of a future reality.
In this world, a society of people live in an enormous, enclosed space with contiguous video screens covering nearly every surface offering personalised entertainment. They earn their living by riding on exercise bikes in order to power their surroundings, earning currency known as Merits. These can be used to buy food, a squirt of toothpaste - EVERYTHING is a single transaction using your merits - virtual accessories for their Dopple, a virtual avatar, and to skip advertising that frequently interrupts everyday activities. Overweight people are second-class citizens who either work as cleaners around the bikes (where they are verbally abused) or are humiliated on game shows which others pay to watch.
Lacking enough Merits to skip an ad, Bing tries to look away, but the automated systems emit an increasingly high pitched and louder beeping noise that only stops when he opens his eyes. Bing tries to use the restroom, but since he cannot leave his cell until the ad finishes...
Link to more about it. https://black-mirror.fandom.com/wiki/Fifteen%5C_Million%5C_Merits[1][2]
1: https://black-mirror.fandom.com/wiki/Fifteen%5C_Million%5C_Merits
2: https://black-mirror.fandom.com/wiki/Fifteen_Million_Merits
This episode fascinated and scared me, and like many other Black Mirror episodes, feels like something just around the corner in our lives.
Comment by deadvvinter at 21/02/2025 at 18:43 UTC
10 upvotes, 0 direct replies
almost everyone dislikes ads.
Comment by Sock-Familiar at 21/02/2025 at 19:48 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I've never met anyone who likes ads. If someone told me they like ads that would be a major red flag. If you want to reduce your internet ads I highly recommend switching to Firefox browser and getting the uBlock Origin ad blocker setup. It's a game changer.
Comment by Powerful_Tea9943 at 22/02/2025 at 23:39 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I hate it too. All these moving screens in shops, buses, even the doctor waitingroom. Its like its impossible to get any (visual) rest without someone trying to steal your attention and money. Its hella annoying.
Comment by Far-Swan3083 at 21/02/2025 at 19:06 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Literally everyone
Comment by hellobearmeh at 21/02/2025 at 19:38 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Yes, I'm glad you're realizing this is a problem. And yes, corporations want to benefit on both ends - make money selling products to you, and then sell YOU as a product to advertisers. They get to double dip and guess what?... it's at your expense.
That being said, that's why I highly recommend using Firefox Browser with UBlock Origin add-on. You can Google it if you want to learn more.
The other option is to switch to Linux and stop using Windows, but I'm aware not everyone has the knowledge of willingness to do that.
Comment by sly0bvio at 21/02/2025 at 19:43 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I’m working on a new way for companies to “promote” products or services without obtrusive ads, and in a way that you might freely or willingly engage in, while also giving you the freedom to opt out and NOT engage with it!
Comment by jtho78 at 21/02/2025 at 20:15 UTC*
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
r/pihole
It won’t work on Ubers, sadly. It will block static ads in your smart tv or mobile ads.
Comment by __squirrelly__ at 21/02/2025 at 21:36 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I use a ton of ad blockers. I refuse to pay for any service that shows ads, we get enough product placement in shows.
Comment by andrei14_ at 21/02/2025 at 21:45 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Unpopular opinion but ads might save us some cash, otherwise rendering us stuck to pay with money. However, I agree with the sentiment that something needs to be changed.
Comment by Sh2Cat at 22/02/2025 at 02:26 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Simply use ad blockers. No need to consume ads. If you need to purchase something then you can research about that product as per according to your needs.
Comment by PurpleAlien4255 at 22/02/2025 at 04:12 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
With the Uber, the best solution is to just turn off the tablet with the power button switch. In the past the app had a dim down button display, but they since removed it and or still showed it being on regardless
With windows 11 its a bit more complicated, ads are becoming the defacto standard. You have to become more technical savvy these days though when managing windows, more so than the past.
Simpleliving requires alot more technical knowledge than in past times.
Comment by Alternative-End-5079 at 22/02/2025 at 19:02 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I LOATHE IT
Comment by No_Win6358 at 21/02/2025 at 18:57 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
You know it's just 1 D for ad, right?
2 D's is for the abbreviation of addition and just 1 D for the abbreviation of advertisement.
Comment by faheyblues at 21/02/2025 at 19:42 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Even the advertisement people dislike ads. But I would add something less obvious which is news. A lot of people talk about the harm of doomscrolling, but I mean news in general. At least a person or two mentioned the latest scandal involving Kanye West to me last week, and I couldn't get why they must have an opinion on that, let alone think about it intensively and spend their energy on it. When I against my will hear of news like that one I can feel how my mind gets filled up with trash.
Comment by kayren70 at 21/02/2025 at 21:39 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I don't mind adds but subtractions are definitely a bummer.
Comment by __-__-_-__ at 22/02/2025 at 06:37 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
No I love ads. I wish there were more.
Comment by Snoo28798 at 24/02/2025 at 00:57 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I feel this way about AI. I am tired of being manipulated.
Comment by riveryeti at 25/02/2025 at 05:34 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Another GenX who can't stand ads here. Folks always had the TV on so I learned to not be around it. BUT one of the down-sides with the ol' tellie - the more you avoid it, the more susceptible you are when you're around it unexpectedly. I find it almost impossible to talk to someone when there's a television screen behind them. Damn those industry psychologists who figure out how to capture your attention.
Probably part of what got me into computers (then ad blockers). Definitely one of the things I love about Android phones - private DNS server (settings/connections/more connection settings/private DNS/dns.adguard.com)
I feel like for me it has made me consume way less media in general, but also because of that, more selectively. When I read a news article, it's almost instinct now to copypasta the link to archive.ph
Comment by NezuminoraQ at 21/02/2025 at 19:50 UTC
0 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Um everyone?