For me: Cancelling paid subscriptions should be as easy as subscribing. I hate the fact that they actively hide the unsubscribe option or that you sometimes should have to write an e-mail if you want to unsubscribe.

  • Libra00@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Advertising. At what point did we as a society decide that it was perfectly acceptable for companies to manipulate us - especially children - into buying shit we don’t need and didn’t even want until the ad sold us on it? It’s fucking wild.

    • mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      20 hours ago

      Marketing wasn’t really a thing until sometime around the Industrial Revolution and post-WW1. Before then, we didn’t really have the capacity to produce more than what people needed. Marketing basically just consisted of “here’s my product, here’s why it’s superior to others.” But with the post-war boom and the rise in manufacturing, producers were suddenly able to out-produce the demand. So they invented marketing, to get people to buy things that they didn’t actually need. The idea of “create a problem so you can sell the solution” was born.

    • DirigibleProtein@aussie.zone
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      1 day ago

      Adblocking feels to me like it should be illegal, but isn’t. I have adblockers on all my devices and haven’t seen an ad for years; it feels like a secret super power and stopped the web from looking like a trashy back alley.

      • harsh3466@lemmy.ml
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        23 hours ago

        I am always shocked when I have to use a browser without an ad blocker. How do people tolerate it?

        I mean, I get it. I know many people have no idea about adblocking, etc. But goddam. It’s so awful without it.

        • LandedGentry@lemmy.zip
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          23 hours ago

          I love how I’ve lost all perspective on what a “normal” ad is. Whenever I see one I’m often either super confused at the approach or it’s so bland I just don’t care. Once you stop seeing them routinely they feel so ridiculous

          • harsh3466@lemmy.ml
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            23 hours ago

            Right! It’s kinda wild when you do see them. I always equate it to the feeling of being in a casino.

            What really throws me is tv commercials. When I do see one, like in a waiting room or something, all I can think is, “people fall for this?”

            • LandedGentry@lemmy.zip
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              22 hours ago

              They usually depend on just making you remember them (the most extreme example I can think of is the “I’m on a horse” old spice ad from like 15 years ago, which admittedly is very clever/funny/well executed), regardless of the message or context. They just want brand recognition a lot of the time. You’re at the supermarket, you see 10 of basically the same cereal, but this one brand of cereal feels more legit or just “draws you in” because of a subconscious association. In that way unfortunately it works most of the time, especially if you don’t have a strong opinion on a product.

          • Cousin Mose@lemmy.hogru.ch
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            19 hours ago

            I’m in the same boat, but you also have to remember that blocking ads typically involves blocking tracking too. You’re right they the ads are much more bland or misdirected but that’s because there’s little to no targeting data (probably just your IP address).

            • LandedGentry@lemmy.zip
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              18 hours ago

              I’m mostly talking about the stuff I see on a TV when I’m in a waiting room or an airport or something

      • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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        23 hours ago

        It’s weird they don’t put more effort into stopping them, TBH. I’ve heard it’s because they’d rather collect extra analytics than do any foolproofing that might interfere with it.

    • Freshparsnip@lemm.ee
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      22 hours ago

      And the fact that a lot of children’s TV shows are nothing but thinly veiled toy commercials. Hilariously parodied in Dinosaurs

    • greenskye@lemm.ee
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      21 hours ago

      Ordered food at Sonic on their app. After I ordered, it popped up with ads for travel, various credit cards, etc. Completely crazy to me that they’re triple dipping on monetization now (sell me food, sell my data and then sell me other shit while trying to sell me food.)

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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      23 hours ago

      It happened gradually, like frogs in a kettle.

      When it was just a guy putting up a sign in front of his smithy it was kind of harmless. Ditto for having a single text-only paper ad for people who are new to town. But, it was a slippery slope.