Advertising makes us less happy

[Alternatepriorities]

MMM has been arguing this for a while now and I've always agreed that not seeing ads was one of the major benefits of not owning a TV.

"We did find a significant negative relationship. When you look at changes in national happiness each year and changes in ad spending that year or a few years earlier—and you hold other factors like GDP and unemployment constant—there is a link. This suggests that when advertisers pour money into a country, the result is diminished well-being for the people living there."

https://hbr.org/2020/01/advertising-makes-us-unhappy

[maizefolk]

Makes sense, but cool to see an actual study! Thanks for posting the link.

In addition to not owning a TV, adbockers/script blockers/tracking blocker also help with avoiding the negative impacts on happiness of advertising and consumer culture.

[ender]

Comparison is the thief of joy.

[Alternatepriorities]

Makes sense, but cool to see an actual study! Thanks for posting the link.

In addition to not owning a TV, adbockers/script blockers/tracking blocker also help with avoiding the negative impacts on happiness of advertising and consumer culture.

For some reason I am almost completely immune to online ads. I just don't see them unless they are pop-ups and those annoy me enough that I won't buy from the advertiser regardless of if it sounds like a good idea. I really wonder why my brain filters them out so well.

[Alternatepriorities]

Comparison is the thief of joy.

Definitely!

[bigblock440]

Makes sense, but cool to see an actual study! Thanks for posting the link.

In addition to not owning a TV, adbockers/script blockers/tracking blocker also help with avoiding the negative impacts on happiness of advertising and consumer culture.

For some reason I am almost completely immune to online ads. I just don't see them unless they are pop-ups and those annoy me enough that I won't buy from the advertiser regardless of if it sounds like a good idea. I really wonder why my brain filters them out so well.

I think it's because it doesn't block the other content, so you just focus on what you're actually there for.  With TV or radio commercials, they take the place of the content you were there to consume, and there's nothing else to draw your focus until it's over.  With sidebar ads, you can just scroll past them while you read.

[Alternatepriorities]

Yeah a YouTube ad did finally catch my attention a couple months ago but it actually turned out to be valuable. I’d been in need of a new belt for a while, the old one was falling apart, but couldn’t find one I liked at any stores I checked. Saw a YouTube ad for a really simple design that was reasonably priced, thought about it for a couple days a decided to chance it. It’s the best belt I’ve ever owned...

I’m pretty sure that’s the only thing I’ve bought because I saw an ad online.

[Tass]

I’m pretty sure that’s the only thing I’ve bought because I saw an ad online.

So... you're not immune? ;)

Considering how many ads explicitly manufacture desire to fill a previously-nonexistent niche, it's not surprising that they make us unhappy. I was teased recently for turning the volume way down in my car whenever ads came on,* but I do not want to offer that garbage my brainspace, regardless of whether I'm interested in the product.

*Usually I either listen to ad-free Spotify or fast-forward through podcast ads, but I was driving and my friend was in charge of the music. I am deeply grateful that podcast ads are so easily skipped, though.

[Alternatepriorities]

I’m pretty sure that’s the only thing I’ve bought because I saw an ad online.

So... you're not immune? ;)

Considering how many ads explicitly manufacture desire to fill a previously-nonexistent niche, it's not surprising that they make us unhappy. I was teased recently for turning the volume way down in my car whenever ads came on,* but I do not want to offer that garbage my brainspace, regardless of whether I'm interested in the product.

*Usually I either listen to ad-free Spotify or fast-forward through podcast ads, but I was driving and my friend was in charge of the music. I am deeply grateful that podcast ads are so easily skipped, though.

Not completely. I did need a new belt or I would have been using rope shortly...

I do the same thing with the radio. Especially for ads i find extra stupid (diamond rings, payday loans to go on vacation, that type of thing). It's weird watching tv and seeing ads after all these years of not having one. They all seem so transparent now.

I sent the link to a friend who's always been smart with his money. He told me his parents used to play a game of "spot the catch" during ads. Seems like a great way to vaccinate kids against ads.

[Tass]

My parents taught me something similar, and I've tried to pass it on. And I also have the same experience of ad disillusionment - once you take a break from them they all seem oddly desperate and dystopian.

I shared the most ridiculous one I've heard recently in my journal:

Hey, are you tired of your toilet? I bet you never even thought such a thing was possible, but that's because you have not seen a Kohler Intelligent Toilet. Kohler thinks that every moment you spend in your bathroom should be part of an elevated experience - not just an everyday thing. And Kohler Intelligent Toilets give you a range of smart features to help you feel your cleanest and your most comfortable. You can use remote app control to personalize your Kohler Intelligent Toilet to: warm your seat, help you clean, give you a light at night - that's what your Kohler Intelligent Toilet can do. No matter your mood, a Kohler Intelligent Toilet offers everything you need for the ultimate pampering, relaxation, and cleanliness. Discover what you've been missing at kohler.com/intelligenttoilets.

Who can achieve the ultimate relaxation while pooping??

[Alternatepriorities]

Who can achieve the ultimate relaxation while pooping??

Okay, the Kohler ad is just insane. But since you asked... High in the Colorado mountains while squatting against a downed a pine I took this photo. Nothing Kohler can offer will ever compare!

[Tass]

That's not a question I expected to be answered, but I guess now I know!

[Alternatepriorities]

You're welcome.

[Zikoris]

We've got our ad-blocking/avoiding pretty locked down, but definitely get pretty annoyed when we do see them. Is it just me or are ads mostly really stupid and weird these days? I would say more than half the time we can't even figure out what the product for sale is until the last half second where the name of it flashes. For print ads, we often can't figure it out at all.

[Metalcat]

A TV ad actually saved my life recently. No joke.

[Sugaree]

Between not having cable TV and listening to satellite radio, I rarely ever see commercials anymore.  The best part is that my kid only sees them at Nana's house, so she's the one that gets to hear the incessant "I want that" to every toy commercial (for which he will have forgotten all about by the time he comes home).

[Alternatepriorities]

A TV ad actually saved my life recently. No joke.

I’m quite curious if you feel up to sharing how.

[Metalcat]

A TV ad actually saved my life recently. No joke.

I’m quite curious if you feel up to sharing how.

I discovered the drug that gave me back basic function while watching HGTV in a hotel in Pennsylvania.

We don't have prescription drug ads in Canada, and this is a whole new class of meds that weren't even approved yet in Canada, so none of my specialists had even heard of it.

I was one of the first people in the country to start on these injections.

[Alternatepriorities]

A TV ad actually saved my life recently. No joke.

I’m quite curious if you feel up to sharing how.

I discovered the drug that gave me back basic function while watching HGTV in a hotel in Pennsylvania.

We don't have prescription drug ads in Canada, and this is a whole new class of meds that weren't even approved yet in Canada, so none of my specialists had even heard of it.

I was one of the first people in the country to start on these injections.

That's amazing, I've always thought the pharmaceutical ads here in the US were ridiculous and mostly served to drive up health care costs. I'm glad to hear that they actually did help someone.

[LennStar]

Yes, ads make us less happy. That is the point of them!!! That is all what "create wants" is about, after all. You can't sell Buddha hair shampoo.

I thought that was common knowledge?

[Alternatepriorities]

Yes, ads make us less happy. That is the point of them!!! That is all what "create wants" is about, after all. You can't sell Buddha hair shampoo.

I thought that was common knowledge?

I've said it for a long time, but until I found MMM I thought my thinking was extremely rare, now I just think it's rare. :)