how many ads do we see a day?
if you have ever asked this question you've probably seen figures like 3,000,5,000,9,000 even 10,000 thrown around a lot. Like a lot, that's the answer you get when you google it after all. But truth is its most likely significantly less than 10,000, more around 200ish(real specific figure i know) on average which compared to that almost mythical figure of 10,000 sounds like a sweet deal right?
well its not.
while most people may not see 10,000 ads a day just the few ads can still negatively impact a persons wellbeing, i mean who like getting advertised to?
if we look multiple studies and use a little bit of common sense its clear to see that ads can a negative effect on peoples mental health. while The effect ads have on the viewer is dependent on the content and therefore different ads will have effects on different people but no matter the content of an ad the simple fact is that ads are simply created to manipulate people. Even something as simple as a person in an ad becoming happier or fixing an issue after getting a product is clearly harmful to the viewer as it implies to them that currently, as they are without the product, are in a negative state or have an issue and the best way to fix said issue is to buy product just like the person in the ad and to those who can afford to buy the product most likely just wasted their money on something they wont use ever again and those without the money to do so will believe that they are in that negative state for as long as they don't have the product. Something as basic as showing the product to fix issues can really mess with someone's head. The clear abundance of ads don't help either, it may seem trivial but getting surrounded by things that are trying to sell you something can feel insanely disingenuous, being constantly reminded of people who don't know you or care about you trying to sell you something can feel isolating.
Ads are a complicated beast, necessary for a capitalist society to survive but just like all things it needs to be done in moderation because if not we give a little more of our lives away to the corporations than we already have.
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