I use ad blockers and open source privacy focused software whenever I can but occasionally I have to use computers that don’t belong to me or an older phone where my usual applications aren’t installed and seeing all the advertisements just feels dirty and dystopian.

I think the worst ads are the text to speech ones that say “Download this app today”. The unblinking energenic people saying you can make a living at home are probably a close second.

  • bela@lemm.ee
    27·
    10 months ago

    This is exactly how I feel. Whenever I had to watch a youtube video with ads lately my lovely Hungarian government has not failed once to put a lovely propaganda piece before every single video. It’s insane that people actually live like this.

    What I think about is how “surfing the internet” has entirely lost its meaning. When looking for something specific your only bet is your search engine’s 3rd to 7th results (the first two just being ads or “sponsored”), and you need to put in serious effort to discover unique and interesting stuff.

    I can not wait for the ad bubble to burst, and maybe then we’ll get some sort of a usable internet once again…