Advertising is Everywhere

In the civilized world, it's very difficult to go a day without seeing some sort of advertising. Ads are on TV, radio, at the movie theater, on billboards, in magazines, newspapers, and comic books. I graduated from college with a marketing degree, so I understand why advertising exists. It can be a great way to reach your target markets, and there are some ads that win local and national awards for their messages and creativity.

Repetition is key to getting your message across, but sometimes companies take things too far. It seems like we're inundated with ads. Even videos we watch that are only a minute or two long have ads embedded in the middle of them. This leads to burnout. People get tired of being advertised to. That's why people switch to satellite radio and streaming television and movie services. They're well worth the price for those who don't like to be advertised to.

Advertising has increased more and more on social media in recent years. A couple weeks ago, I was on vacation in Florida. I woke up one morning looking forward to spending time with friends. One of the first things I did when I got up was check my Facebook page. I was annoyed to see that every third or fourth post was an ad. Even with my settings set to very restricted levels, I still usually have at least one day a month where I get an influx of ads on my Facebook news feed. When it happened again a week later, I decided to check my account settings.

It turns out there were over 1,400 companies that acquired my contact information. Many of them were realtor offices and automotive dealerships that are not anywhere close to where I live. I spent the better part of a day hiding ads from them or blocking them. I even complained on a few of their pages. Some of them offered an apology in response. Ever since, I've still had about 30 new companies a day to block or hide ads from.

I'm not going to delete my social media pages, but I have been a lot more careful about my settings and the information that I post. Even though advertising is everywhere, I take intentional steps to limit my exposure. I'm at a stage in my life where I'm content and don't want to be annoyed by things that just don't matter.

Advertising rarely ever affects my buying decisions. I usually know what I want to buy and where I can purchase items for the best price and value. I've been watching more movies on DVD, listening to music on CDs and off of my computer and reading more books. I've always loved reading ever since I was a child. If they start putting ads in books, I don't know what I'll do!

I do write for some sites that may contain ads. That's beyond my control. If this blog site ever starts running ads, I may move it to another site. I want this to be fun and as enjoyable for both myself and you readers out there.

Well, that's all for now.  Until next time, have a  great week, everyone!