I sometimes think, that marketing is one of the worst thing that happened to us. It is constantly destroying all things that worked really well for us. There were times when checking my mailbox (I mean physical one) was either important - taxes, administration, bills or fun - postcards from family and friends. Now it’s 99% spam. It’s not worth checking. Email - the same. Mostly spam and shitty newsletters that will '…
To take the counter argument. Modern technology has enabled me to avoid advertising bullshit. I live in a world devoid of ads. In the 1990s, I used to watch TV and there were lots of ads. Now I have Netflix and the ad blocker takes care of YouTube. There were magazines and newspapers you had to buy but were full of ads. Now it’s free and the adblocker takes care of the ads. Radio ads. Now podcast where you can fastfo…
There's also the question of qualitative change, such as personally targeted advertising and the infrastructure and methods (massive pervasive surveillance) required to support that.
Given global ad spending trends and the consequences of targeted manipulation and mass surveillance, I'd strongly suggest your life is not nearly so free of advertising's influence as you testify, and perhaps even believe.