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< Drunk ramblings @ 2 in the Morning
No one's holding a screen to our heads, except that in order to do simple things these days -- online shopping, browse the news, get simple answers to simple questions -- we have to dive through a sea of advertisements actively targeting and tracking us across all domains. This is the default.
It doesn't have to be like this, and sure, if we take the time to set up blockers, other barriers, and minimize our online footprints, you can mitigate a lot of it. But, the vast majority of online users aren't tech proficient enough to achieve this, nor know where even to begin, nor have the time after their increasingly more demanding jobs, nor have the willpower after their increasingly more-dependent dependents demanding their attention (due to, say, a deliberately underfunded/overpriced school/childcare system).
The system is so stacked, it's hard to cope without just giving in and letting it shred you by degrees each day, because it's easier than fighting against each and every injustice.
Great points, as usual!
I'm maybe just a little nonplussed by the struggles of others with online phenomena for having given up the likes of Facebook and Twitter long ago, not having actively sought "news" in what's coming up on three years, and pretty good about avoiding sites I decide are too thick with advertising and/or Javascript fireworks.