this post was submitted on 19 Nov 2023
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I'm yet to see anything other than anecdotal evidence that proves that phones listen to what you say around them and serve ads based on that. the only thing I've seen was a research performed a few years ago that proved the opposite.
My assumption is that it's almost certainly the other way around. Ads visible surrounding you in your life work their way into your head and make it to your conversations. At that point it stops being subliminal and you're thinking about it and notice the ads.
My entire theory is hinged on the idea that advertising works. That all these companies spending millions and billions on ads fundamentally know what they're doing and that you're being hacked in an insidious and grotesque way by them.
My worldview still makes it a duty to protect your own goddamn soul by installing as many ad blockers as possible though
This is my assumption too.
I consider myself a difficult person to target ads at because usually if I need something I’ll do a deep dive and research the fuck out of it before narrowing down my options. For example when I bought a cordless vacuum recently I checked wirecutter and project farm on YouTube before eventually settling on a brand I’ve never heard of based on the project farm video and the performance in that video.
Now, where this broke down for me and I started to question reality was a few years ago when I had a Yamaha street bike (FZ09) and I was coming up on my first oil change interval. I did what I usually do; deep research dive, checked forums, reviews, Reddit, etc.; what’s the best oil for this bike, do people usually use the 1st party “Yamalube” oil or do they go for something different?
It’s important to note that at the same time I had been watching the back catalog of motoGP races from the 2015-2019 era and enjoying a couple of those races each day.
Anyway, all of my research on the right oil for my bike’s next oil change led me to a couple of forum posts where I decided that “Motul 7100” oil was the best option for me, the climate I ride in, and my bike. I ordered it on Amazon and moved on with my week.
Later that week I realized that in the background of several of the race tracks where these motoGP races were taking place were massive trackside ads for… literally Motul 7100.
Now, sure it’s normal for motor oil companies to sponsor motor sports, but it freaked me out. It couldn’t just be coincidence! “I researched this thoroughly and made up my own mind!” I told myself.
Why didn’t I end up choosing Shell or Bel-Ray or Penzoil instead? Is it because I subconsciously conditioned myself to be willing to receive recommendations for that oil brand? Was it because of other people being advertised to who then recommended it?
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how it happened… but I bought the very same oil that was advertised to me even after trying to be as resistant to advertising and brand loyalty as I could be.
After that realization I’ve just come to the conclusion that advertising is bigger than any of us individuals. It’s almost not possible to resist it, because at some level, somewhere along the line, it’ll get you. Or it won’t 🤷🏻♂️