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I so miss the era of social media when viewers were not forced to sit through an advertisement just to watch a vlog, funny video, or even a tutorial for furniture assembly. It began as a minor inconvenience in the earlier days of YouTube, but now the abundance of advertisements on every social media platform has ruined the experience. From apps to news websites to streaming services, there are opportunities for content creators to gain ad revenue. If you don’t want to see ads, you sometimes have the option to pay for a subscription. Just recently, my month-long free trial for YouTube Premium ended, and I went from watching a video with a click of a button to having my peaceful ASMR room interrupted by an advertisement for deodorant.

Some stores have even replaced freezer glass with screens. Walgreens replaced some fridge doors with screens. And some shoppers absolutely hate it. I mean, what episode of Black Mirror are we in? Some apps and services are available free to users if they can deal with the advertisements, and sometimes this can be a good alternative for those who cannot afford music streaming services like Spotify or Tubi. There are even thousands of free games on our phones that are free. However, these developers sometimes push ads so frequently that the user cannot enjoy their content. They are either forced to a) pay for the service to avoid advertisements; b) continue to sit through continuous, irrelevant ads; or c) stop using the service altogether.

Social media is not unlike traditional television in this way now where we watch a segment of a show before we cut to commercial break. I understand that this is just the way our society is moving, but I do believe we’re verging on way-too-far.

Comments

  1. Samantha MatherneSeptember 20, 2023 at 9:21 AM

    I don't mind watching a short ad before a YouTube video, but I do hate when a video is interrupted with an ad in the middle of it. That downgrades the entire viewing experience for me. Advertisements surely make products and services cheaper for us consumers, but there is a time and place for ads. Even Sirius radio claims to be "commercial free", yet I find random commercials advertising their own service or stations.

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