If there is one thing that I've come to absolutely despise over the last decade, it's advertising and the role it plays in today's times.

Back in my younger days, I thought that commercials on TV were special in a way. There was a fun little jingle, a saying or a song, that was unique with each item or service being shown. You would see these a few times while watching TV during the week, maybe finding yourself humming or saying the jingle while working or cooking dinner. "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? The world may never know." They were harmless, memorable and fun, in a good way.

But in the current times, advertising has transformed into an ugly mess; really, more a monster than anything else.

One huge problem is that advertising is extremely pushy. Billboards on the interstate, posters and signs everywhere, regardless if you are in a small town or big city. It's the display of "you need this thing", when it's really conveying "you are worthless unless you have this thing". Don't have the latest iPhone? You're behind the times. Don't have these clothes or this car? What a worthless human being you must be. It's pushing the idea that because you don't participate in the purchase of a good or service, you are nothing.

Another example is the Internet. What once was a tool of exploration and information sharing is now the world's largest platform for pushing a product. To really rant "old man style", the Internet was once an exciting place with a feeling of "promise" for the future. You can't even visit a website or open an app without being overwhelmed with ads, coupon codes, offers, or random audio and video playing somewhere on the site. I just don't understand how people can go to a site, get the information they need or do the thing they need to do, and leave in a sane state of mind. Websites have become so ad ridden that it technically degrades the value and usability of said site. Ever try searching for a simple recipe? You can usually find it at the bottom of a webpage . . . after clicking out of a pop up, scrolling down past multiple ads, reading about someone's life story, and finally, right below the tens of useless studio photos of said dish. Tools like Reader Mode and Ad-Blockers aren't enough sometimes.

I remember a time where real world ads were seen in video games and I thought, "How cool is that? It's blending real world things into the game! Did you see that Pepsi billboard back there?" It was actually a cool thing to see at the time and made for an elevated experience. Do you remember Launch, the digital magazine that came on CD-ROM? This was one of my favorite things as a kid to get each month in the mail on my old Windows 98 PC. It was pretty heavy on promoting new band singles and albums, video games and movies, but it also had quick, short commercials and ads for things like Butterfinger BBs and Twix. These ads never stopped you from browsing the digital magazine, unlike a typical YouTube video does today. There were even games that were themed with things like Butterfinger BBs, but it was fun and didn't take away from the experience! To me, ads like that were more acceptable back then; they were a part of the experience, not pushy, not hostile.

But now we live in a world where pushing the next big thing is the main attraction and focus. It's become the entire idea instead of just part of it. You can't even watch a YouTube video without a 15-30 second unskippable ad first and probably another 1-2 of them throughout the video. It's insane!

I am an Apple guy and unfortunately I can't find a good, free ad-blocker for my iPhone and iPad, so I'm stuck using the official YouTube app. The "walled garden" is a great place to be, except for some niche things like sideloading apps or installing browser extensions in Safari. There are constantly ads for inappropriate things like sex pills, barely clothed models, anti-Trump propaganda, etc. And with the amount of parents who give a device to their kids with YouTube, the kids can see this stuff? Pretty messed up if you ask me. I've actually tried to report these ads but they just keep coming back.

What about social media? Social media is an amazing tool that most people don't use in the way it was meant to be used. While it should be used to connect with people and share things you are passionate about, it's now full of "content creators" who will do anything as long as they are sponsored and paid. I personally think that the notion of a "content creator" as a primary job is quite frankly stupid and should have never been a thing to begin with. Even my wife, who enjoys people sharing their passion for home decor and creative skills on Instagram, says that these people are doing less and less content of their passion, but more of selling random things like makeup and clothes.

So what is there to do about this? I wish that I had good news to share, but honestly, the pessimist in me sees it for what it is. I see that this is just going to get worse . . . but only if you let it.

I wish that there were some laws and regulations on advertising, both in the real world and online, to maybe puts some limits on what we are seeing. It's totally inappropriate the amount of sexuality in everything. I wish that people would start using social media for the good, not for an opportunity to push your "brand" or "merch". Small businesses should force people to their Facebook page just to view a menu, hours of operation, or specials. I wish that people would create websites and blogs about their passion, with their passion being at the forefront of what they do, not the paycheck, sponsorships, or social media exposure. I wish that people would take effort and joy in creating and self hosting their own websites, and not rely on the giants like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Sure, the cost and difficulty of self hosting can deter some people, but it would weed out some folks too (in a good way). If you were truly passionate about something, enough to share with the world, then you would pay for, manage, and host your website yourself.

Personally, I have a few things that I use as well as some basic rules that I live by when it comes to "living with advertising".

First thing: Tools. I proudly use web browser extensions such as UBlock Origin and Sponsorblock. Notice I used the word "proudly". I know that "people have to eat" or "people have to earn a paycheck", but advertising has gone too far. Ads could be an acceptable thing if done properly for free services such as YouTube and Reddit; ads in a paid service should never be a thing. Play me a 15-30 second ad every few videos (not every single one, plus the ads you play during the video AND while the video is paused). That's acceptable to me and I can deal with it. Don't blend in ads as posts on Reddit, especially when they are literally every third post like the official Reddit mobile app does. Websites like a blog shouldn't have more than one ad, or those random audio/video ads that you can't shut off easily. Make the Internet an acceptable place to advertise and not a hassle, not something that degrades itself.

Sponsorblock is a tool just helps with "content creator" annoying habits like self promotion, "like, share, subscribe", and other sponsored nonsense. Just stop it. People will subscribe if they find you interesting enough.

Finally, I use Pinchflat for YouTube offline viewing through Jellyfin and for archiving. This is a whole topic in itself, so maybe another day.

Second thing: Common sense. At the end of the day, you have to choose what is acceptable for you, where that line in the sand is. I've always believed in the saying that "the only way to win is not to play". Sometimes, you have to choose to not participate in order to keep your sanity. For me, I deal with the YouTube ads on my mobile devices (for now) and will continue to until I cross that line; same for Reddit on mobile. If a "content creator" continues to push and promote while I'm watching their video, I simply stop watching immediately and choose to never watch their stuff again. If YouTube makes changes where tools like UBlock Origin, Sponsorblock, and Pinchflat cease to work, then I will have to evaluate whether or not it's worth continuing to use YouTube anymore. Same goes for Reddit, other forms of social media, or even blogs.

I don't like to pose a problem without suggesting a solution, otherwise, it's just a complaint. But isn't this a rant post after all? It's hard to say what that solution should be but it's worth noting (and remembering) that you don't have to participate. You aren't being forced to use YouTube, Reddit or Tiktok, but you choose to be there. I believe that if enough people got fed up with ads like I am and stopped using services that display them too much, it would get the message across, but unfortunately, people are accepting these things and not doing anything about it. Know what you can control and know that it's ok when you choose to delete Tiktok; you will live and be just fine.