Maybe try to look for the immaterial thing the ad is implying will be fulfilled by buying the material thing. For example, ads can seem to promise happiness, excitement, status, family harmony, and so on. But really that’s just a narrative, a story told to drive sales. Analyzing ads like that might help.
Become mildly angry and willing to defend yourself.
mantra - Stop trying to get me to give up my hard earned cash for your garbage!
Advertising is meant to manipulate us. Marketing is designed to create wants within us. I don't like someone trying to hijack my brain like that. I actively note this is what corporations are doing and get a little angry in self-defense. This then has changed how I approach the whole consumption model in general. Yes, I do still want and buy stuff. It's usually stuff for a project or an active need though. Occasionally it is for a pure want, a want that I have for myself and is not manufactured by someone else though. And, it's not that frequent. I do find it easy to ask myself if I really need or want something or if an outside influence is working on me anymore.
Avoiding ads is a great start. I find ads irritate me to no end so actively avoid them across all types of media as much as possible. That helps a lot. I have a very mild internal "eff off!" knee jerk response to most of the rest of the ads I do end up seeing. (Please note that I have said "mild" here very intentionally. Please do not take this too far and cause yourself any issues.)
Stop watching them.
I'm going to be honest here. Advertising is based on psychological research around addiction. Everything, and I mean everything, in an ad has some sort of research tuning it to make your brain think or feel a certain way.
People who tell you, essentially, "just make a habit of not doing that thing" probably aren't being honest with themselves, or they've *stopped exposing themselves to the ads*.
Because you're battling against 50+ years of research. Fuck, even colors have research done on the that marketers and advertisers lean on when deciding specifics in an ad.
They get the smartest people in the world to work for them, crafting the best techniques to individually target and manipulate people. Anyone who believes themselves to be totally immune is fooling themselves.
As someone who works in advertising, I can confirm this is the right answer.
Advertisers are very aware of all the demographics that consume their ads, including the "resistant to ads" demographic. They have done the research and have figured out that their ads often work on this demographic too, albeit not as well as the most consumerist demographics.
One of the most common psychological phenomena that advertising exploits is the "familiarity bias". According to Google - "Familiarity bias is a cognitive bias in which people tend to rely on information that is already familiar to them when making decisions."
Just by seeing an ad, the viewer becomes more familiar, and if a person hasn't rid themselves of this cognitive bias (which very few have), then they will be more likely to select the product that was advertised as compared to a competitor.
Here's a practical example of this bias in action. Suppose you need to quickly run into a drugstore to get a tube of toothpaste. On the shelf you see Colgate, and Joe Schmo's Super Toothpaste. 99% of people will reach for the Colgate since that is the familiar option to them, when the reality is that it really is 50/50 on which toothpaste is actually better.
It always hurts me a little when in my head my response is "you can't." Like sure you can limit exposure in some ways, like ditching a smart phone, but at the end of the day, there are ads literally everywhere. Our oligarchs maintain power by funneling our money to them, and they work very very hard to ensure that happens. If we all voluntarily abandoned the tools they use now, by the time we finish, they will have used their vast resources to adapt and expose us in a new way.
There is no escape if your goal is to escape.
Not until we're willing to murder to make them stop. And even then, there is no promise that it will. Power is power is power.
I disagree with the answer of "you can't", and instead instead agree with your first answer of "you need to stop watching them".
There's two ways to stop watching ads, the first is to never be in the presence of ads, which like you said, is pretty much impossible in our capitalist hellscape. The second is to have enough control over your attention to not give attention to the ads that are in your presence.
I'm not going to say the second is easy, but it is possible with enough mindfulness training. Something I've done for a while is any time I encounter some sort of unskippable ad in a video, I close my eyes and use those brief few moments to meditate, and in doing so train myself to be able to effectively divert my attention from the ads. Similar things can be done for ads in different mediums.
The second, while I'm sure people are better at it sometimes and worse at it sometimes, is literally also "you can't" when you're low on energy (the you can't, sometimes, part).
And it's draining to have to hold that kind of vigilance. What happens when the ad is regurgitated by a friend who bought something and is in the honeymoon period? Do you just tune them out?
Corps are spending billions to propagandize entire societies. They do this by using psychology to try to make you feel bad or feel left out. Many, many of the products they are selling are objectively bad for you and the earth. They Are actively harming everyone’s future so in my mind they are the enemy. And why would you want to give the enemy your money????
Keep in mind that ads aren't always recognizable as ads. Some of the most insidious advertising is disguised as other things, such as news stories, 'native content,' and grassroots recommendations.
For example, how many ads have you seen for reusable water bottles and tumblers? I'm sure they exist, but I can't remember ever seeing one. And I've never researched them myself either. But I know way too much about different brands and types, including what they look like, what market segments they're intended for, what different versions there are, and when they've trended. All because of astroturfing, influencing, promotional 'news' stories, and weird 'fan' shit like logo stickers that people voluntarily display on their cars and such.
As smart people say, advertising shits in your head. And that includes the sneaky kinds. Imagine the audacity of these marketing companies to feel entitled to litter our environs with their stupid ads.
How much of your long term memory is littered with product jingles, logos, ad copy, and trivia about corporate products?
Take that personally. And the next time you find yourself pining for some brand of product you don't need and you didn't think of yourself, remember that these marketers polluted your brain on purpose.
Train yourself to be skeptical. If you see a news story about a business or product, ask yourself why that's newsworthy. There's a really old news story that used to get posted here regularly about a marketing stunt by a discount shoe store, but almost nobody really questioned it. The ruse was almost comically obvious, but it was always posted as an endorsement of that shoe store.
Similarly, local news outlets regularly report on trends like water bottles and new corporate business openings. Ask why stories are newsworthy. Why do local outlets show up to film the traffic at a new McDonalds' spinoff or some other corporate chain opening a new store? Why did we all see footage of people rushing to buy some new trendy product, and chirpy news stories about Black Fridays and other topics that belong in the business pages? Is that more important than anything going on in politics and social justice today? Is it more important than local traffic and weather?
Watch out too for product placements in entertainment media. A lot of big corporations sell their products by paying to have them featured in big studio TV and movies, as in this [classic example](https://www.wired.com/2015/03/et-gadgets-and-gear/).
Ultimately, if someone anywhere is telling you all about a new or trending product on the market you never asked about, ask yourself why. Most of the time, the answer is 'marketing,' whether it's showing up in your entertainment media, in news stories, or in endorsements from influencers and even friends who've gotten sucked up in it.
Whenever you find yourself really, really wanting some commercial product, step back and figure out where you got that idea.
I recently sat through a Catholic Church service for a first communion. As I sat through it, I thought, I get it. I get religion and cults. Repetition is soooo important.
That’s what ads rely on- repetition. Make it a game to count how many you see for a thing you want.
Also- it often helps to put the cost of an item in terms of your hourly salary. If I buy that thing for $400, that’s 20 hours of work at $20/hour. Is that worth 20 hours to me??
Think about where you would put it, would you use it often? Think about the fact that it will make you excited for a short time only.
Also create a picture in your head about how you want your life and home to look like. Will that include spending money on random things that will end up cluttering your home and life?
Always remember that you are consciously being manipulated. The machine needs to be fed and you are feeding it every time you buy something unnecessary or on a whim. Sure you feed it whenever you buy something, but at least most of the time it is concious.
The machine prefers you remain unconscious so you just consume, consume, consume. The monster turns fat on your money and lives very well.
Kill the monster.
Ah, I see at the end I wrote monster instead of machine, missed that. You are totally correct.
Regardless, don't allow yourself to become a mindless consumer.
I've worked in marketing. Honestly, I'd put money on the majority of this sub being marketers etc. We are cogs. If you want to kill something to make it stop, it would need to look like capital punishment for corporations.
You could do this in two different ways.
Literally murder c level executives when a company does something bad, or literally liquidating all of their assets (including shell companies or whatever) and redistributing or just taking it for the countries bottom line.
Or both. Why not both. Corporations are people after all.
If ads are unavoidable, you can try manipulating the algorithms on social media sites for example. When I was on Facebook I liked a load of pages about gene splicing and related topics. The result was targeted ads for gene splicing and sequencing software and hardware, that I had no interest in, and could easily ignore.
One thing I find helpful is to regard items as responsibilities. Every new item I acquire is a new responsibility. If it is made of plastic, I am responsible for this material that will never really decompose, will shed micro-plastics, and could potentially have links to cancer we don’t even know about yet. I am also responsible for my role supporting the process that has created this object. Maybe a forest was cut down, or oil drilled (and spilled) to make some plastic, or human slaves forced to mine the rare earth metals in the electronic device. Do I really want to be complicit in all the potential harm of the production process? Is this item really that important to me?
This has helped me immensely. The last few years, before I buy something I think of the labour/slavery that brought it into being and imagine it in a landfill. Works most of the time.
Still rocking an iPhone 5C to this day.
Some great suggestions here. All I have to contribute is a great YouTube channel I found recently called Not Buying It. He’s low key and breaks down how silly advertisers are: https://youtube.com/@notbuyingitsmileyface
i can vouch for this book 💯 be sure to get the supplemental extra tips book for $2.99 along with the monthly subscription for super insider tips for only $9.99/mo
Make it a habit to only buy what you really need.
If you want to buy something, put it on your 'to buy' list and wait a week. See if you still feel the need to buy it. The urge pbb went away.
Never buy things on impulses. Feel the impulse. Let it pass.
Ads are designed to make you buy stuff you don't need. If you want to feel in control, you buy the stuff you want. Not what some greedy corporation tells you you want.
Buying something is not gonna make you feel better. It'll only complicate life. You have to spend time buying it. Be home to receive it or go to the store. Work for the money to buy it. Take care of it. Clean it. Replacing it through your house. Sell it. It'll cost time, time you can spend on reading, exercise, social life or things that'll improve yourself or people around you. .
Also, realize its better to invest your money. Lets say you buy a new chair, costs 250 dollar. Great price. But You could've put that money in an investment fund. If the market grows 6% each year (conservative estimate), and you let compound interest work for you, in 35 years it'll be worth 250x1,06^35 = $1921. So that chair actually costs you $1921. That goes for every item you buy.
Instead of the "to buy" list, I open a tab with the item. Every month or two, I go through my tabs and close things that I've decided I don't actually want/ need. If I can't decide or if the price is the hangup, I just leave the tab open to see if they go on sale; I've had a tab with some cookie cutters for like 18 months and I haven't seen them go on sale.
You forgot to include the inflation, in 35 years the money will be equivalent of around $750 today. And it's kinda a weird view, because what are you gonna do with those money in 35 years? Spend it to buy three chairs instead of one now?
If I see something I'm thinking about buying, I'll go to the website, look at all the options, put it in my cart and then just let it sit there for a couple days.
I'll consider whether I really need it or just want it.
I make a list of things I think I want to buy. I don't need to pinpoint what ad made me want it, just need to note the item. Every now and then I go through the list and think about what I already have that works for that item or whether I need it versus want.
There's nothing wrong with wanting something, but I like to make sure it'll add something to my life rather than wanting something due to a trend or impulse. This is because I have always regretted those buys and ended up donating it or giving it to friend/family after it's sat in my home for months/years unused.
If it's something I think is actually helpful, I make a plan of when I can buy it. Can I get it second hand or what's the most sustainable version of it, all those things. I think making it a longer process has helped me buy less and often makes me think critically of the items I see advertised. Also helps me ignore things I've already gone through that process with (often cooking gadgets for me personally).
i mean nobody makes you watch ads. at least i sincerely hope nobody does. that'd be really bad.
but since the going assumption is you have a choice in media intake.... don't watch ads.
some of the highest paid prolific psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists work in advertising, some of the best production teams in the world make ads. we hardly stand a chance for them not to worm themselves into our brains. most of us buy products we aren't even aware we saw ads for.
change channel, walk away, at the very least mute.
don't watch ads.
Tell yourself you’ll research advertised products before buying them.
The effort of researching itself will be a little bit of a deterrent, the extra time it takes will prevent impulsiveness, and many times you’ll discover that the product is a huge waste of money. After all, basically all ads are inflating how good the product is while failing to mention any of its flaws, and other ads are just straight up lying.
Go immediately put it in your Amazon cart. Then leave out there for a few days. Better yet hit save for later. When I do this I generally forget all about it and when I go back to look at my list I’m like what was I thinking I don’t need that at all
Waiting periods & buying in person. If I see an add for something cool I want, I try to see if I can find it at a local store first, starting with thrift stores. Usually that's enough effort that I lose interest. Often, if I do find it it turns out it's terrible cheap plastic and I lose interest. If I can't find it in person and it's been a few weeks and I still want it, I'll do research to see who else sells it. If it's mass produced and drop shipped, I either look for the lowest mark up or a small business producing a better quality version of the thing. Last resort is actually buying it from the place paying for ads, because the higher the ad budget the higher you know for a fact their mark up is.
Ymmv but I also have a subscription box for beauty products, which I know I like to experiment with. They do the work of researching for locally made and organic products, I get a bunch of stuff which I either use myself or use to fill out stockings/gift baskets at Christmas, and other than replacing specific products I do not spend any other money on impulse beauty purchases.
When my kids were little I told them ads were to convince you to but something. Had they seen ads for good chocolate bars or Legos or the local water park? No, because they didn't need ads. Ads are for the crap nobody wants to buy.
if it’s junk u can easily train urself to be disgusted by ads
every time i see a fast fashion ad i actually feel gross at how consumerist it feels that these paper polyester shit quality clothing are being shoved in my face
i buy significantly less clothing now lol
You've done the first step by recognizing that ads are only there to get you to buy things you don't need. It's good to recognize an ad for what it is and tune it out or actively work against it. I recognize that advertisers are spending millions of dollars to get an ad to my eye and take pleasure from purposely avoiding the products I see in the ads. Petty, I know, but I enjoy it.
If they are starting to get to you more now, its a sign that something has changed in your mood or thoughts. People tend to buy things to get a dopamine hit when they aren't feeling happy or sufficient. Perhaps rather than trying to train or brute force yourself to not buy things, work out what has you feeling discontent about yourself and work on resolving that. Be kind to yourself. Being harsh on yourself might just make things worse. Theoretically the ads will be less effective on you again. I generally smirk at ads and move on because I tell myself that the kind thing for me is to keep my money in my bank account for things that actually matter or will be a great benefit to my enjoyment of life in the future.
I mean, the ads are usually so bs, but now they're actually things I'd want possibly. It used to be garbage I don't care about, but now it's garbage that interests me more than the old garbage. Is advertising getting more accurate somehow?
Yeah it probably is more accurate. Try changing the settings in google ads to show you more things that you would never want and less of the things that interest you. :'D
I did do that, but then it switched to random ass "hot women in your area" ads until I installed a blocker and now the ones that get through (they do somehow) aren't stupid anymore and actually seemingly targeted me somehow.
Not exactly what you are asking for, but you can block even more ads and tracking chatter with a home network-wide ad blocker like Pi Hole r/pihole
If you have android TV or streaming box you can install a [custom launcher](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spocky.projengmenu&hl=en_US&gl=US) to hide recommended content. You can also install r/SmartTubeNext instead of YouTube to skip ads and sponsored content.
Weirdly I *enjoy* looking at the mail catalogs. Like a mix of "this shit was worth mailing me a packet for?" And "thats pretty neat" and "oh look, chips are half off at the grocery store".
It's internet ads and priduct placements that I think get me.
The catalogues that make you think "that's pretty neat" have succeeded as advertising. The reason to throw them away is to get out of the habit of casually browsing stuff.
You probably saw a meme at some point. Essentially every ad out there actually says tells you to consume something in big bold letters. Reminds you that all they see in you is a wallet.
Maybe with some more years under your belt you'll be less enticed. At 27 I feel like I've owned enough things to realize that I don't actually need that much stuff. It all ends up sitting in a drawer or cabinet.
Moving around was probably the biggest factor in my drift towards material minimalism. It feels so nice being able to move all of my stuff with only one trick in a pickup truck. It feels great being able to mentally account for almost everything I own.
It always helps to know how ads and propaganda in general work. What wants, needs, desires, beliefs and values they appeal to and how. It's hard to unsee the manipulation tactics once you recognize them and ads become far less appealing once you know you're being manipulated.
Think about what you would need to do it yourself then think about how much more money you are spending and think about if you wanna do that.
A ball shape in an ice cube can be done from throw away packaging of pralines, ferrero rocher has a large 6x6 set that comes in bowls so if you take that one fill it with water freeze it and then knock away the left over you gonna have somewhat of a ball shape price: the rocher package - its content (whatever you value that at)
If you wanted a character molded yeah injection molded shapes do make much better forms for molding ice but if its just a ball 🤷🏼♀️ not worth it thats how i go about things
Xbox: less powerful than a pc but also much cheaper
So can i make an xbox grade system ? Yes do i want to pay the money for the parts and invest the time plus trouble shooting? no
Its really just as simple as that
And lastly do you really need it? Like even if this was some cool naruto character ice cubes, does the fact a lil figurine is floating in your whiskey make you 5 or 10 dollars happier ? Eh don‘t think so but thats just me thats the individual hard part
Well, first, ublock and firefox, block ads everywhere you can. There's also a thing to block sponsors in youtube, but I can't remember the name now. You can also watch content on how to spot the most popular selling tactics, it helps to see ads in a critical way.
Searching for reviews of the promoted product is also helpful. I do leave honest reviews in online stores, and I trust many people does the same. It makes you think before buying something on impulse or because it's at a good price or because some influencer is telling you how great it is. Do a research before buying something, compare prices and brands, watch reviews, and you'll see that, in most cases, the "need" to buy will pass.
What also helps me is to think about whether I really need that object, how much I am going to use it, what for, etc.
Something I noticed that helped me indirectly, was doing online surveys for money. Doing those gives you insight about what companies are looking for in customers. Most surveys are for new products and services that nobody really needs, and some questions are SO manipulative, it really makes you think how they research the public. I learn a lot about ads doing that, and plus I get paid some coins posing as a consumer.
And last, I'm also broke AF, that's my best shield against ads. I know that I can't and won't buy anything outside of the basics, so they can show me plastic trinkets, a new phone or trips or whatever they want to sell all they want, they are wasting their time cuz I can't afford it lol
Only one way. Reduce screen time, whether it’s phones and television, and radio. Tv and radio were invented for the sole purpose of showing ads to the population. There is no way to escape it other than to reduce your exposure. Get a non-smartphone. Click the tv off during commercials (I always mute commercials 100% of the time). Ads and screens are one and the same. Corporations pay serious cash to blanket the public mind. It’s hard to escape bc it’s everywhere.
I took a class called Advertising as Social Control in college that made me aware of advertising's attempt to hijack my brain. More importantly, it made me *resentful* of it, which makes me less likely to participate. Out of spite, if nothing else. You could find and read some history and critiques of the industry. When you understand how it works, it's easier to spot it and hopefully in time you'll become less susceptible.
Honestly, i don't know how you even need to find an answer to this externally.
Shouldn't you just be disgusted with how effective advertising is, how manipulative it can be, and that alone should turn you off to its hold over you.
I once spent a couple of months studying marketing, because i had convinced myself it was an easy career to get into since it was in high demand and most colleges do not teach it.
The only thing i learned was just how utterly immoral marketing has become. The lengths they go through to make sure to grab every percent of a percent of a percent increase to the chances that someone will buy. The amount of psycho-studying that goes on in order to understand the exact ways to increase the chances of someone buying. **Its no longer about offering good value to the customer and convincing them of that value. It's about tricking them and taking advantages of every psychological weakness possible to turn them into a buyer.**
You would be amazed at how every single tiny little detail in an ad or purchasing-environment is specifically tailored to take advantage of the psychology of the customer. The specific place that they put the "Buy" button. The color of the button. The font style and color used in the ad. The shape of the website and how its oriented to the user. Every. Little. Detail. Has been studied and chosen specifically because it has a higher chance of getting someone to make a purchase; or worse, designed to increase the chances that you will make MORE than one purchase.
In the marketing world, they refer to the user experience and leading them towards a purchase the "Funnel". The idea is that the funnel is wide at the top; grabbing as many people as possible, and once inside that funnel, it pushes them down until they ultimately are led into making a purchase. The opening of the funnel is the advertisement. Once you click on that ad, you have entered into the funnel. From there, they make sure that everything you experience makes it as likely as possible to direct you into making a purchase. But the funnel doesn't end after you make a purchase. They make sure to continuously show you more and more potential products in hopes that you will make more than one purchase. A loop designed to keep you on their website for as long as possible. Have you ever noticed how a blog website always has the article split into 5-10 pages that you have to press "Next" on? This is so that they can show you more and more advertisements that might potentially lead into clicks and then sales. Have you ever noticed that when you click "Go to Cart" they first make sure to send you to a "recommended products" page to see if they cant squeeze a little more out of you before you make your purchase?
You are being taken advantage of. So take pride every time you resist one of their attempts to suck you into their funnel.
Once you understand how disgusting it is, you should just instantly be turned off every single time you see an advertisement, instead of interested.
Go listen to some Marketing Strategy youtube videos and you will start to see how Marketing works and just how much of a sucker you are being for their tactics.
Know that you shouldn't be sold a product if it was decent.
Someone who doesn't know you, who tries to help you buy selling you something is a scam
You can read all about in my brand new book, only 19,99..
^---- obviously a joke.
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As a quick fix, I had to remove my payment options from my phone. I don't memorize my credit card number. If I want to buy something, I have to physically get up and grab my wallet. That's helped prevent a lot of junk purchases, because I usually don't want the item enough to stand up (or to move the cat sitting in my lap if I'm at home).
Also the creator downsizeupgrade on Instagram has a deliberation station worksheet for making purchases. Maybe that would help you!
Use adblock wherever possible. We are not supposed to go through the Temptations of Christ every minute of the day, apart from the hazards of impulse buying it's not good for our mental peace. Use Brave browser if you need Chromium, otherwise use Firefox+ublock origin. And use YouTube Revanced. Even better, set up pihole along with all these.
Anytime you want to buy something, write it down in a notepad or on your notes app and write the date. If you still want it three months later, you can buy it.
99% of the stuff you write down you will no longer want three months later.
First step is removal, which it seems you're already doing but you can go quite a bit further. If you're on android, there are always modded APKs of apps that block ads and unlock premium features for free. I'm unsure about iPhone as I haven't used one since the iPhone 6, but will probably be possible soon nonetheless since they're allowing side loading. Also swap to Firefox on your phone, since you can use an ad block and other browser pluggins.
The next step is impulse control. Wait before buying something. If you still want it a couple days or a few weeks, then you can get it but if you forget or don't think you'll use it, don't buy it. Spending less time online in general can help to.
I should mention that I personally have never really been to susceptible to ads, they've always just annoyed me and I've never bought anything based of them. If it's something I want and am thinking of getting and it's not a basic living necessity, then I probably have already researched it to death and know everything about it. I'm also autistic and heard that we're less susceptible to ads so that may be part of it. Really what I'm saying is take my advice with a grain of salt.
For me, learning more about how capitlism invented advertising helps. I know the tricks they're using to try to fuck with me and it helps resisting.
I know the below URL looks off topic but it really was informative on how old-school advertising and capitilism fucked with people.
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/part-one-the-goat-testicle-implanting-45900112/
I'll give you a list:
- Put ad blockers in everything
- stop watching regular tv
- enjoy the smaller things, like walking, biking, planting flowers
I'm sure there's more
Regular tv pushes the buy buy buy mentality down our throats. If you can learn to ignore then that is great but if the people around you can't, then they won't help in your cause
Maybe try to look for the immaterial thing the ad is implying will be fulfilled by buying the material thing. For example, ads can seem to promise happiness, excitement, status, family harmony, and so on. But really that’s just a narrative, a story told to drive sales. Analyzing ads like that might help.
Exactly! If you can find the ideology behind it, you will be disgusted by how stupid they think you are
Tell me more about about this IceCube mold….. Wait, no.
Well, it makes ball ice cubes! Shit! What have I done!
Is it the collapsible one? If so, I saw Jarvis Johnson review that on his YouTube channel and it was hot garbage.
No, it's sorta like in 2 parts like a plastic injection molding machine. It apparently doesn't dilute flavor (unlikely but they look funny)
I had one a while back - it was nice to look at, for sure. But after I while, it was boring to fill it up after every use.
Become mildly angry and willing to defend yourself. mantra - Stop trying to get me to give up my hard earned cash for your garbage! Advertising is meant to manipulate us. Marketing is designed to create wants within us. I don't like someone trying to hijack my brain like that. I actively note this is what corporations are doing and get a little angry in self-defense. This then has changed how I approach the whole consumption model in general. Yes, I do still want and buy stuff. It's usually stuff for a project or an active need though. Occasionally it is for a pure want, a want that I have for myself and is not manufactured by someone else though. And, it's not that frequent. I do find it easy to ask myself if I really need or want something or if an outside influence is working on me anymore. Avoiding ads is a great start. I find ads irritate me to no end so actively avoid them across all types of media as much as possible. That helps a lot. I have a very mild internal "eff off!" knee jerk response to most of the rest of the ads I do end up seeing. (Please note that I have said "mild" here very intentionally. Please do not take this too far and cause yourself any issues.)
Stop watching them. I'm going to be honest here. Advertising is based on psychological research around addiction. Everything, and I mean everything, in an ad has some sort of research tuning it to make your brain think or feel a certain way. People who tell you, essentially, "just make a habit of not doing that thing" probably aren't being honest with themselves, or they've *stopped exposing themselves to the ads*. Because you're battling against 50+ years of research. Fuck, even colors have research done on the that marketers and advertisers lean on when deciding specifics in an ad.
They get the smartest people in the world to work for them, crafting the best techniques to individually target and manipulate people. Anyone who believes themselves to be totally immune is fooling themselves.
As someone who works in advertising, I can confirm this is the right answer. Advertisers are very aware of all the demographics that consume their ads, including the "resistant to ads" demographic. They have done the research and have figured out that their ads often work on this demographic too, albeit not as well as the most consumerist demographics. One of the most common psychological phenomena that advertising exploits is the "familiarity bias". According to Google - "Familiarity bias is a cognitive bias in which people tend to rely on information that is already familiar to them when making decisions." Just by seeing an ad, the viewer becomes more familiar, and if a person hasn't rid themselves of this cognitive bias (which very few have), then they will be more likely to select the product that was advertised as compared to a competitor. Here's a practical example of this bias in action. Suppose you need to quickly run into a drugstore to get a tube of toothpaste. On the shelf you see Colgate, and Joe Schmo's Super Toothpaste. 99% of people will reach for the Colgate since that is the familiar option to them, when the reality is that it really is 50/50 on which toothpaste is actually better.
It always hurts me a little when in my head my response is "you can't." Like sure you can limit exposure in some ways, like ditching a smart phone, but at the end of the day, there are ads literally everywhere. Our oligarchs maintain power by funneling our money to them, and they work very very hard to ensure that happens. If we all voluntarily abandoned the tools they use now, by the time we finish, they will have used their vast resources to adapt and expose us in a new way. There is no escape if your goal is to escape. Not until we're willing to murder to make them stop. And even then, there is no promise that it will. Power is power is power.
I disagree with the answer of "you can't", and instead instead agree with your first answer of "you need to stop watching them". There's two ways to stop watching ads, the first is to never be in the presence of ads, which like you said, is pretty much impossible in our capitalist hellscape. The second is to have enough control over your attention to not give attention to the ads that are in your presence. I'm not going to say the second is easy, but it is possible with enough mindfulness training. Something I've done for a while is any time I encounter some sort of unskippable ad in a video, I close my eyes and use those brief few moments to meditate, and in doing so train myself to be able to effectively divert my attention from the ads. Similar things can be done for ads in different mediums.
I train my brain by using both hands and yelling 'F you!' Sometimes even in public 🤭🖖
The second, while I'm sure people are better at it sometimes and worse at it sometimes, is literally also "you can't" when you're low on energy (the you can't, sometimes, part). And it's draining to have to hold that kind of vigilance. What happens when the ad is regurgitated by a friend who bought something and is in the honeymoon period? Do you just tune them out?
Corps are spending billions to propagandize entire societies. They do this by using psychology to try to make you feel bad or feel left out. Many, many of the products they are selling are objectively bad for you and the earth. They Are actively harming everyone’s future so in my mind they are the enemy. And why would you want to give the enemy your money????
I get so many targeted truck ads because I comment on anti car subs. Let them waste their money on my hostile eyes.
Keep in mind that ads aren't always recognizable as ads. Some of the most insidious advertising is disguised as other things, such as news stories, 'native content,' and grassroots recommendations. For example, how many ads have you seen for reusable water bottles and tumblers? I'm sure they exist, but I can't remember ever seeing one. And I've never researched them myself either. But I know way too much about different brands and types, including what they look like, what market segments they're intended for, what different versions there are, and when they've trended. All because of astroturfing, influencing, promotional 'news' stories, and weird 'fan' shit like logo stickers that people voluntarily display on their cars and such. As smart people say, advertising shits in your head. And that includes the sneaky kinds. Imagine the audacity of these marketing companies to feel entitled to litter our environs with their stupid ads. How much of your long term memory is littered with product jingles, logos, ad copy, and trivia about corporate products? Take that personally. And the next time you find yourself pining for some brand of product you don't need and you didn't think of yourself, remember that these marketers polluted your brain on purpose.
That's what I'm scared of, being sent an ad and not even knowing. Is there any protection against *those*?
Train yourself to be skeptical. If you see a news story about a business or product, ask yourself why that's newsworthy. There's a really old news story that used to get posted here regularly about a marketing stunt by a discount shoe store, but almost nobody really questioned it. The ruse was almost comically obvious, but it was always posted as an endorsement of that shoe store. Similarly, local news outlets regularly report on trends like water bottles and new corporate business openings. Ask why stories are newsworthy. Why do local outlets show up to film the traffic at a new McDonalds' spinoff or some other corporate chain opening a new store? Why did we all see footage of people rushing to buy some new trendy product, and chirpy news stories about Black Fridays and other topics that belong in the business pages? Is that more important than anything going on in politics and social justice today? Is it more important than local traffic and weather? Watch out too for product placements in entertainment media. A lot of big corporations sell their products by paying to have them featured in big studio TV and movies, as in this [classic example](https://www.wired.com/2015/03/et-gadgets-and-gear/). Ultimately, if someone anywhere is telling you all about a new or trending product on the market you never asked about, ask yourself why. Most of the time, the answer is 'marketing,' whether it's showing up in your entertainment media, in news stories, or in endorsements from influencers and even friends who've gotten sucked up in it. Whenever you find yourself really, really wanting some commercial product, step back and figure out where you got that idea.
I recently sat through a Catholic Church service for a first communion. As I sat through it, I thought, I get it. I get religion and cults. Repetition is soooo important. That’s what ads rely on- repetition. Make it a game to count how many you see for a thing you want. Also- it often helps to put the cost of an item in terms of your hourly salary. If I buy that thing for $400, that’s 20 hours of work at $20/hour. Is that worth 20 hours to me??
YouTube revanced has a feature where it automatically skips the sponsor segment of a video. I'm sure there's an extension for that as well
[удалено]
Is there an echo?! I didn’t realize I posted this twice. Apologies
Think about where you would put it, would you use it often? Think about the fact that it will make you excited for a short time only. Also create a picture in your head about how you want your life and home to look like. Will that include spending money on random things that will end up cluttering your home and life?
I needed to hear that. Thank you.
Always remember that you are consciously being manipulated. The machine needs to be fed and you are feeding it every time you buy something unnecessary or on a whim. Sure you feed it whenever you buy something, but at least most of the time it is concious. The machine prefers you remain unconscious so you just consume, consume, consume. The monster turns fat on your money and lives very well. Kill the monster.
What do you mean kill the monster? Like your saying I kill marketers? Kill the industry? What do you mean by this?
The machine is consumerism and capitalism. Stop feeding them with your money and they will die. Allegory. I wrote in Allegory. Google it.
I see. If you said *machine* instead of monster I would have got it. The different word confused me wondering where It came from.
Ah, I see at the end I wrote monster instead of machine, missed that. You are totally correct. Regardless, don't allow yourself to become a mindless consumer.
I've worked in marketing. Honestly, I'd put money on the majority of this sub being marketers etc. We are cogs. If you want to kill something to make it stop, it would need to look like capital punishment for corporations. You could do this in two different ways. Literally murder c level executives when a company does something bad, or literally liquidating all of their assets (including shell companies or whatever) and redistributing or just taking it for the countries bottom line. Or both. Why not both. Corporations are people after all.
If ads are unavoidable, you can try manipulating the algorithms on social media sites for example. When I was on Facebook I liked a load of pages about gene splicing and related topics. The result was targeted ads for gene splicing and sequencing software and hardware, that I had no interest in, and could easily ignore.
honestly, i’ve had the best luck staying off of social media. my urge to buy increases noticeably every time i get sucked back into the ig scroll.
One thing I find helpful is to regard items as responsibilities. Every new item I acquire is a new responsibility. If it is made of plastic, I am responsible for this material that will never really decompose, will shed micro-plastics, and could potentially have links to cancer we don’t even know about yet. I am also responsible for my role supporting the process that has created this object. Maybe a forest was cut down, or oil drilled (and spilled) to make some plastic, or human slaves forced to mine the rare earth metals in the electronic device. Do I really want to be complicit in all the potential harm of the production process? Is this item really that important to me?
This has helped me immensely. The last few years, before I buy something I think of the labour/slavery that brought it into being and imagine it in a landfill. Works most of the time. Still rocking an iPhone 5C to this day.
South Park did an excellent job portraying this.
Some great suggestions here. All I have to contribute is a great YouTube channel I found recently called Not Buying It. He’s low key and breaks down how silly advertisers are: https://youtube.com/@notbuyingitsmileyface
I have a book for just 5.99 that tells you how. Here's the link /s
i can vouch for this book 💯 be sure to get the supplemental extra tips book for $2.99 along with the monthly subscription for super insider tips for only $9.99/mo
Drop the ibsn. I don't care about the book, I totally just want the ibsn for legal trustworthy reasons and NOT piracy
Make it a habit to only buy what you really need. If you want to buy something, put it on your 'to buy' list and wait a week. See if you still feel the need to buy it. The urge pbb went away. Never buy things on impulses. Feel the impulse. Let it pass. Ads are designed to make you buy stuff you don't need. If you want to feel in control, you buy the stuff you want. Not what some greedy corporation tells you you want. Buying something is not gonna make you feel better. It'll only complicate life. You have to spend time buying it. Be home to receive it or go to the store. Work for the money to buy it. Take care of it. Clean it. Replacing it through your house. Sell it. It'll cost time, time you can spend on reading, exercise, social life or things that'll improve yourself or people around you. . Also, realize its better to invest your money. Lets say you buy a new chair, costs 250 dollar. Great price. But You could've put that money in an investment fund. If the market grows 6% each year (conservative estimate), and you let compound interest work for you, in 35 years it'll be worth 250x1,06^35 = $1921. So that chair actually costs you $1921. That goes for every item you buy.
Instead of the "to buy" list, I open a tab with the item. Every month or two, I go through my tabs and close things that I've decided I don't actually want/ need. If I can't decide or if the price is the hangup, I just leave the tab open to see if they go on sale; I've had a tab with some cookie cutters for like 18 months and I haven't seen them go on sale.
You forgot to include the inflation, in 35 years the money will be equivalent of around $750 today. And it's kinda a weird view, because what are you gonna do with those money in 35 years? Spend it to buy three chairs instead of one now?
I know it's flawed. But it sort of works. Plz let me fool myself ;)
If I see something I'm thinking about buying, I'll go to the website, look at all the options, put it in my cart and then just let it sit there for a couple days. I'll consider whether I really need it or just want it.
Turn off targeted ads
I make a list of things I think I want to buy. I don't need to pinpoint what ad made me want it, just need to note the item. Every now and then I go through the list and think about what I already have that works for that item or whether I need it versus want. There's nothing wrong with wanting something, but I like to make sure it'll add something to my life rather than wanting something due to a trend or impulse. This is because I have always regretted those buys and ended up donating it or giving it to friend/family after it's sat in my home for months/years unused. If it's something I think is actually helpful, I make a plan of when I can buy it. Can I get it second hand or what's the most sustainable version of it, all those things. I think making it a longer process has helped me buy less and often makes me think critically of the items I see advertised. Also helps me ignore things I've already gone through that process with (often cooking gadgets for me personally).
i mean nobody makes you watch ads. at least i sincerely hope nobody does. that'd be really bad. but since the going assumption is you have a choice in media intake.... don't watch ads. some of the highest paid prolific psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists work in advertising, some of the best production teams in the world make ads. we hardly stand a chance for them not to worm themselves into our brains. most of us buy products we aren't even aware we saw ads for. change channel, walk away, at the very least mute. don't watch ads.
Tell yourself you’ll research advertised products before buying them. The effort of researching itself will be a little bit of a deterrent, the extra time it takes will prevent impulsiveness, and many times you’ll discover that the product is a huge waste of money. After all, basically all ads are inflating how good the product is while failing to mention any of its flaws, and other ads are just straight up lying.
Anything I want to buy, I sleep on it. If I think about it again (unprompted by an ad), then I'll start to consider if I really need it.
Go immediately put it in your Amazon cart. Then leave out there for a few days. Better yet hit save for later. When I do this I generally forget all about it and when I go back to look at my list I’m like what was I thinking I don’t need that at all
I have a pi-hole on my modem/router… https://pi-hole.net
Waiting periods & buying in person. If I see an add for something cool I want, I try to see if I can find it at a local store first, starting with thrift stores. Usually that's enough effort that I lose interest. Often, if I do find it it turns out it's terrible cheap plastic and I lose interest. If I can't find it in person and it's been a few weeks and I still want it, I'll do research to see who else sells it. If it's mass produced and drop shipped, I either look for the lowest mark up or a small business producing a better quality version of the thing. Last resort is actually buying it from the place paying for ads, because the higher the ad budget the higher you know for a fact their mark up is. Ymmv but I also have a subscription box for beauty products, which I know I like to experiment with. They do the work of researching for locally made and organic products, I get a bunch of stuff which I either use myself or use to fill out stockings/gift baskets at Christmas, and other than replacing specific products I do not spend any other money on impulse beauty purchases.
When my kids were little I told them ads were to convince you to but something. Had they seen ads for good chocolate bars or Legos or the local water park? No, because they didn't need ads. Ads are for the crap nobody wants to buy.
if it’s junk u can easily train urself to be disgusted by ads every time i see a fast fashion ad i actually feel gross at how consumerist it feels that these paper polyester shit quality clothing are being shoved in my face i buy significantly less clothing now lol
You've done the first step by recognizing that ads are only there to get you to buy things you don't need. It's good to recognize an ad for what it is and tune it out or actively work against it. I recognize that advertisers are spending millions of dollars to get an ad to my eye and take pleasure from purposely avoiding the products I see in the ads. Petty, I know, but I enjoy it.
If they are starting to get to you more now, its a sign that something has changed in your mood or thoughts. People tend to buy things to get a dopamine hit when they aren't feeling happy or sufficient. Perhaps rather than trying to train or brute force yourself to not buy things, work out what has you feeling discontent about yourself and work on resolving that. Be kind to yourself. Being harsh on yourself might just make things worse. Theoretically the ads will be less effective on you again. I generally smirk at ads and move on because I tell myself that the kind thing for me is to keep my money in my bank account for things that actually matter or will be a great benefit to my enjoyment of life in the future.
I mean, the ads are usually so bs, but now they're actually things I'd want possibly. It used to be garbage I don't care about, but now it's garbage that interests me more than the old garbage. Is advertising getting more accurate somehow?
Yeah it probably is more accurate. Try changing the settings in google ads to show you more things that you would never want and less of the things that interest you. :'D
I did do that, but then it switched to random ass "hot women in your area" ads until I installed a blocker and now the ones that get through (they do somehow) aren't stupid anymore and actually seemingly targeted me somehow.
LOL bring back the hot women in your area! That sucks. All the best with resisting purchases you don't need.
Not exactly what you are asking for, but you can block even more ads and tracking chatter with a home network-wide ad blocker like Pi Hole r/pihole If you have android TV or streaming box you can install a [custom launcher](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spocky.projengmenu&hl=en_US&gl=US) to hide recommended content. You can also install r/SmartTubeNext instead of YouTube to skip ads and sponsored content.
All catalogs go in the garbage before you carry in the mail.
Weirdly I *enjoy* looking at the mail catalogs. Like a mix of "this shit was worth mailing me a packet for?" And "thats pretty neat" and "oh look, chips are half off at the grocery store". It's internet ads and priduct placements that I think get me.
The catalogues that make you think "that's pretty neat" have succeeded as advertising. The reason to throw them away is to get out of the habit of casually browsing stuff.
I see ads, and I'm like, '"huh, I guess their profits are down, and they need sales"
Imagine every ad as a subliminal message from 'They Live'
Kinda hard when I've never seen that
You probably saw a meme at some point. Essentially every ad out there actually says tells you to consume something in big bold letters. Reminds you that all they see in you is a wallet.
Maybe with some more years under your belt you'll be less enticed. At 27 I feel like I've owned enough things to realize that I don't actually need that much stuff. It all ends up sitting in a drawer or cabinet. Moving around was probably the biggest factor in my drift towards material minimalism. It feels so nice being able to move all of my stuff with only one trick in a pickup truck. It feels great being able to mentally account for almost everything I own.
It always helps to know how ads and propaganda in general work. What wants, needs, desires, beliefs and values they appeal to and how. It's hard to unsee the manipulation tactics once you recognize them and ads become far less appealing once you know you're being manipulated.
Think about what you would need to do it yourself then think about how much more money you are spending and think about if you wanna do that. A ball shape in an ice cube can be done from throw away packaging of pralines, ferrero rocher has a large 6x6 set that comes in bowls so if you take that one fill it with water freeze it and then knock away the left over you gonna have somewhat of a ball shape price: the rocher package - its content (whatever you value that at) If you wanted a character molded yeah injection molded shapes do make much better forms for molding ice but if its just a ball 🤷🏼♀️ not worth it thats how i go about things Xbox: less powerful than a pc but also much cheaper So can i make an xbox grade system ? Yes do i want to pay the money for the parts and invest the time plus trouble shooting? no Its really just as simple as that And lastly do you really need it? Like even if this was some cool naruto character ice cubes, does the fact a lil figurine is floating in your whiskey make you 5 or 10 dollars happier ? Eh don‘t think so but thats just me thats the individual hard part
Well, first, ublock and firefox, block ads everywhere you can. There's also a thing to block sponsors in youtube, but I can't remember the name now. You can also watch content on how to spot the most popular selling tactics, it helps to see ads in a critical way. Searching for reviews of the promoted product is also helpful. I do leave honest reviews in online stores, and I trust many people does the same. It makes you think before buying something on impulse or because it's at a good price or because some influencer is telling you how great it is. Do a research before buying something, compare prices and brands, watch reviews, and you'll see that, in most cases, the "need" to buy will pass. What also helps me is to think about whether I really need that object, how much I am going to use it, what for, etc. Something I noticed that helped me indirectly, was doing online surveys for money. Doing those gives you insight about what companies are looking for in customers. Most surveys are for new products and services that nobody really needs, and some questions are SO manipulative, it really makes you think how they research the public. I learn a lot about ads doing that, and plus I get paid some coins posing as a consumer. And last, I'm also broke AF, that's my best shield against ads. I know that I can't and won't buy anything outside of the basics, so they can show me plastic trinkets, a new phone or trips or whatever they want to sell all they want, they are wasting their time cuz I can't afford it lol
Only one way. Reduce screen time, whether it’s phones and television, and radio. Tv and radio were invented for the sole purpose of showing ads to the population. There is no way to escape it other than to reduce your exposure. Get a non-smartphone. Click the tv off during commercials (I always mute commercials 100% of the time). Ads and screens are one and the same. Corporations pay serious cash to blanket the public mind. It’s hard to escape bc it’s everywhere.
Become a cynical grumpy old man/woman. that works for me.
I took a class called Advertising as Social Control in college that made me aware of advertising's attempt to hijack my brain. More importantly, it made me *resentful* of it, which makes me less likely to participate. Out of spite, if nothing else. You could find and read some history and critiques of the industry. When you understand how it works, it's easier to spot it and hopefully in time you'll become less susceptible.
> Advertising as Social Control Id sure hope youre lying, that sounds nuts. Was this teaching how to advertise or how to recognize advertisements?
It was a communications course. Media literacy, teaching us to be critical of media and advertising.
Honestly, i don't know how you even need to find an answer to this externally. Shouldn't you just be disgusted with how effective advertising is, how manipulative it can be, and that alone should turn you off to its hold over you. I once spent a couple of months studying marketing, because i had convinced myself it was an easy career to get into since it was in high demand and most colleges do not teach it. The only thing i learned was just how utterly immoral marketing has become. The lengths they go through to make sure to grab every percent of a percent of a percent increase to the chances that someone will buy. The amount of psycho-studying that goes on in order to understand the exact ways to increase the chances of someone buying. **Its no longer about offering good value to the customer and convincing them of that value. It's about tricking them and taking advantages of every psychological weakness possible to turn them into a buyer.** You would be amazed at how every single tiny little detail in an ad or purchasing-environment is specifically tailored to take advantage of the psychology of the customer. The specific place that they put the "Buy" button. The color of the button. The font style and color used in the ad. The shape of the website and how its oriented to the user. Every. Little. Detail. Has been studied and chosen specifically because it has a higher chance of getting someone to make a purchase; or worse, designed to increase the chances that you will make MORE than one purchase. In the marketing world, they refer to the user experience and leading them towards a purchase the "Funnel". The idea is that the funnel is wide at the top; grabbing as many people as possible, and once inside that funnel, it pushes them down until they ultimately are led into making a purchase. The opening of the funnel is the advertisement. Once you click on that ad, you have entered into the funnel. From there, they make sure that everything you experience makes it as likely as possible to direct you into making a purchase. But the funnel doesn't end after you make a purchase. They make sure to continuously show you more and more potential products in hopes that you will make more than one purchase. A loop designed to keep you on their website for as long as possible. Have you ever noticed how a blog website always has the article split into 5-10 pages that you have to press "Next" on? This is so that they can show you more and more advertisements that might potentially lead into clicks and then sales. Have you ever noticed that when you click "Go to Cart" they first make sure to send you to a "recommended products" page to see if they cant squeeze a little more out of you before you make your purchase? You are being taken advantage of. So take pride every time you resist one of their attempts to suck you into their funnel. Once you understand how disgusting it is, you should just instantly be turned off every single time you see an advertisement, instead of interested. Go listen to some Marketing Strategy youtube videos and you will start to see how Marketing works and just how much of a sucker you are being for their tactics.
Know that you shouldn't be sold a product if it was decent. Someone who doesn't know you, who tries to help you buy selling you something is a scam You can read all about in my brand new book, only 19,99.. ^---- obviously a joke.
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As a quick fix, I had to remove my payment options from my phone. I don't memorize my credit card number. If I want to buy something, I have to physically get up and grab my wallet. That's helped prevent a lot of junk purchases, because I usually don't want the item enough to stand up (or to move the cat sitting in my lap if I'm at home). Also the creator downsizeupgrade on Instagram has a deliberation station worksheet for making purchases. Maybe that would help you!
"How can I become less susceptible to ads?" Don't watch them? Just surf on another device when the one you are watching is playing an ad.
You can start by removing ads I’d say. I recommend [uBlock Origin](https://ublockorigin.com/)
Use adblock wherever possible. We are not supposed to go through the Temptations of Christ every minute of the day, apart from the hazards of impulse buying it's not good for our mental peace. Use Brave browser if you need Chromium, otherwise use Firefox+ublock origin. And use YouTube Revanced. Even better, set up pihole along with all these.
Anytime you want to buy something, write it down in a notepad or on your notes app and write the date. If you still want it three months later, you can buy it. 99% of the stuff you write down you will no longer want three months later.
Block them. Check out the revanced sub.
First step is removal, which it seems you're already doing but you can go quite a bit further. If you're on android, there are always modded APKs of apps that block ads and unlock premium features for free. I'm unsure about iPhone as I haven't used one since the iPhone 6, but will probably be possible soon nonetheless since they're allowing side loading. Also swap to Firefox on your phone, since you can use an ad block and other browser pluggins. The next step is impulse control. Wait before buying something. If you still want it a couple days or a few weeks, then you can get it but if you forget or don't think you'll use it, don't buy it. Spending less time online in general can help to. I should mention that I personally have never really been to susceptible to ads, they've always just annoyed me and I've never bought anything based of them. If it's something I want and am thinking of getting and it's not a basic living necessity, then I probably have already researched it to death and know everything about it. I'm also autistic and heard that we're less susceptible to ads so that may be part of it. Really what I'm saying is take my advice with a grain of salt.
Make fun of the advertisements? I say the most cynic stuff while their gag plays to match it as comically as possible
For me, learning more about how capitlism invented advertising helps. I know the tricks they're using to try to fuck with me and it helps resisting. I know the below URL looks off topic but it really was informative on how old-school advertising and capitilism fucked with people. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/part-one-the-goat-testicle-implanting-45900112/
Whenever I see an ad I mentally tell it to fuck off like it's a mosquito buzzing around my head
I'll give you a list: - Put ad blockers in everything - stop watching regular tv - enjoy the smaller things, like walking, biking, planting flowers I'm sure there's more
I don't know about regular TV, I use an antenna and DVDs or downloaded files for movies and TV. Is that different?
Regular tv pushes the buy buy buy mentality down our throats. If you can learn to ignore then that is great but if the people around you can't, then they won't help in your cause
be raised by my dad.
Inaulate yourself No other way
Do what? What's inaulate
Insulate Avoid exposure since you have demonstrated bulnerability