Researchers find inverse correlation between advertising and life satisfaction • Hacker News Board

Re: Researchers find inverse correlation between advertising and life satisfaction

#111

Post by nickelcitymario » Wed, Jan 15, 2020, 5:38 PM UTC

throwanem wrote: post #37

nickelcitymario wrote: post #28

I'm gonna take the contrarian viewpoint here. Full disclosure: I'm in advertising. The researcher states that increasing "aspiration" (their term) leads to dissatisfaction and more unhappiness. Sure! But aspiration is also why we invented the wheel, harnessed fire, founded fancy schools like Harvard, try to be good parents, etc. I don't disagree that ambition and aspiration can make a person unhappy. But it's also wh…

Thank God for the advertisements that motivated Jonas Salk to invent the polio vaccine, huh?

Ah yes, snark. This is helpful.

In case you missed it: I didn't say advertising got people to invent jack shit. I said "aspirations" did. The research paper claimed aspirations are what make people unhappy, and then said advertising increases aspirations, so therefore advertising makes people unhappy.

I'm defending aspirations. The research paper is the one saying advertising leads to aspirations, which I consider a complement, thank you very much.

Re: Researchers find inverse correlation between advertising and life satisfaction

#112

Post by slumdev » Wed, Jan 15, 2020, 5:40 PM UTC

tombert wrote: post #39

I was the first person in my family to do the "cord cutting" thing, where I only had an Amazon Prime and Netflix account, and a bunch of DVDs and Blu-Rays (around 2012). People asked me why, and I said that I think it's dumb to pay money for advertisements, and that I think ads are bad for you. My brother-in-law is overall a smart guy, but he works at Taco Bell full-time, making minimum wage in NYC (~$15/hour). He de…

These stories are too common.

I would guess that the median* wage on HN is probably around 5x what your brother-in-law makes. And I would also guess that many of us are perfectly content with old phones, old cars, and generally reduced consumption. Hell, I buy clothes at thrift/resale shops when I find something nice that fits.

What are people of means (relatively) seeing? Is it because we have more leisure time and can afford to filter the media we consume?

*I'm consciously using median because I would guess that FAANG and the coasts skew the mean.

Re: Researchers find inverse correlation between advertising and life satisfaction

#113

Post by iN7h33nD » Wed, Jan 15, 2020, 5:40 PM UTC

nickelcitymario wrote: post #97

iN7h33nD wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that the aspirations that almost all advertisements give to people are actively harmful in every possible way. - It is the main revenue source of most mentally harmful products like social media. A replacement created for the good of the world paid for by taxes with open data would be much preferred. - Has masked how the world really functions via out-right lies and deception. Coke makes you happy, Happy Cows…

Since you cherry picked the worst examples, let me cherry pick some of the best: - Ads for charities - Political ads (which are only good or bad if you agree or disagree with their positions) - Ads for schools - Movie trailers (a form of entertainment in it of themselves) Also: I suspect (but don't have the means to prove) a positive correlation between advertising spending and national GDP. Look, if your point is th…

I did not cherry pick the worst examples, just the most common. Only one of your examples could possibly lead to a good aspiration in people, charities. Even that seems like a stretch though as many advertisements for charities are scams or to charities that only use a low percentage of the donation for the charities cause. It could push people to look up a list charities and donate, which is why it could be positive.

We don't need ads for schools or politicians a person should make their own choice based on impartial data and public debates. Movie trailers in and of themselves are not bad, but as advertisements they only drive people to consume. I can't say that they give positive aspirations.

Why do we need to be socialist or a utopia to ban most advertising?

Re: Researchers find inverse correlation between advertising and life satisfaction

#114

Post by slumdev » Wed, Jan 15, 2020, 5:43 PM UTC

nickelcitymario wrote: post #108

ganzuul wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Name one advertising agency which has honesty as one of its core precepts.

Petryna Advertising, my agency. Thanks for coming out.

How many corporate Centers of Excellence produce excellent work?

Re: Researchers find inverse correlation between advertising and life satisfaction

#115

Post by wutbrodo » Wed, Jan 15, 2020, 5:43 PM UTC

JohnFen wrote: post #24

TheGallopedHigh wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Said succinctly: Comparison is the thief of joy

One of my favorite sayings is "never compare yourself to others, for it will make you both vain and bitter. There will always be someone worse than you, and always someone better."

Ive always felt quite the opposite: comparing myself to those better off than me motivates me and to those worse off makes me grateful for what I have. This started pretty immediately after I entered the workforce. I don't know what accounts for me ending up on the win-win side of the coin, but I'm evidence that you can't take for granted that the lose-lose situation you describe will happen.

Re: Researchers find inverse correlation between advertising and life satisfaction

#116

Post by aketchum » Wed, Jan 15, 2020, 5:43 PM UTC

teekert wrote: post #31

cm2012 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We should strive to take away the option of knowledge from the poor, so they can be happy with their place in society.

Maybe we can just create a lower underclass that we make too stupid to care for growth by subjecting them to alcohol during pregnancy and provide them with drugs that will simply allow them to be content by being.

Is this a Brave New World reference?

Re: Researchers find inverse correlation between advertising and life satisfaction

#117

Post by newscracker » Wed, Jan 15, 2020, 5:45 PM UTC

tombert wrote: post #39

I was the first person in my family to do the "cord cutting" thing, where I only had an Amazon Prime and Netflix account, and a bunch of DVDs and Blu-Rays (around 2012). People asked me why, and I said that I think it's dumb to pay money for advertisements, and that I think ads are bad for you. My brother-in-law is overall a smart guy, but he works at Taco Bell full-time, making minimum wage in NYC (~$15/hour). He de…

> My brother-in-law is overall a smart guy, but he works at Taco Bell full-time, making minimum wage in NYC (~$15/hour). He decided that he needed the newest iPhone 11, presumably because of some good marketing, spent over a grand (through financing of course...ugh), and he'll spend the next year paying it off.

Apple has made this (buying, or rather leasing, a new iPhone every year) a lot easier to get addicted to and seemingly cheaper through the iPhone Upgrade Program.

Re: Researchers find inverse correlation between advertising and life satisfaction

#118

Post by nickelcitymario » Wed, Jan 15, 2020, 5:46 PM UTC

beart wrote: post #66

nickelcitymario wrote: post #28

I'm gonna take the contrarian viewpoint here. Full disclosure: I'm in advertising. The researcher states that increasing "aspiration" (their term) leads to dissatisfaction and more unhappiness. Sure! But aspiration is also why we invented the wheel, harnessed fire, founded fancy schools like Harvard, try to be good parents, etc. I don't disagree that ambition and aspiration can make a person unhappy. But it's also wh…

I feel slightly insulted by your point of view. You seem to be saying that advertising is like medicine, it might taste bad but it will end up being good for me in the end. Short of moving to a cabin in the woods, there is no way to actually escape advertising if I choose. And even limiting advertising takes a lot of effort. I'm not just talking about ads on web pages - it's in movies, TV, on the sides of buildings,…

> You seem to be saying that advertising is like medicine, it might taste bad but it will end up being good for me in the end.

Goodness me, no that's not what I'm saying and I apologize if that's how it came out.

The research paper said advertising leads to aspirations, and this is inherently bad because aspirations lead to unhappiness.

I'm saying aspirations are a good thing, regardless of their source. I didn't know this was a controversial position.

But I'm also agreeing that when advertising creates or emphasizes a non-existent problem to sell you something that doesn't benefit you in the long run, then that's a shitty thing to do. There are many laws in most countries that curb the worse examples of this, and we could almost certainly benefit from more of them (or stronger enforcement... I dunno, not a lawyer).

As for the quantity of advertising, I said this in another response as well: How do you intend to limit it? While any ban is obviously a negative to my business, on an ethical standpoint I'm fine with such a ban as long as it's complete. What I'm not ok with is saying "there can only be X number of ads" because THAT's when things get unfair. That's when the advertisers with the biggest pockets will get the advantage, because they'll be the only ones who can afford to buy such a limited supply of ads.

Re: Researchers find inverse correlation between advertising and life satisfaction

#119

Post by nickelcitymario » Wed, Jan 15, 2020, 5:48 PM UTC

slumdev wrote: post #114

nickelcitymario wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Petryna Advertising, my agency. Thanks for coming out.

How many corporate Centers of Excellence produce excellent work?

Pardon? I don't know what that means.

Re: Researchers find inverse correlation between advertising and life satisfaction

#120

Post by newnewpdro » Wed, Jan 15, 2020, 5:48 PM UTC

nickelcitymario wrote: post #28

I'm gonna take the contrarian viewpoint here. Full disclosure: I'm in advertising. The researcher states that increasing "aspiration" (their term) leads to dissatisfaction and more unhappiness. Sure! But aspiration is also why we invented the wheel, harnessed fire, founded fancy schools like Harvard, try to be good parents, etc. I don't disagree that ambition and aspiration can make a person unhappy. But it's also wh…

Necessity, not aspiration, is the mother of invention.

Please change careers.