I’m a bit of a technology optimist, and I also believe in just a little bit of human responsibility. Yes, I’m a big ol’ lefty who thinks that the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” idea is ridiculous, and I’ve written countless pieces about the myth of meritocracy. But, we need to find a balance because at a certain point, we need to recognize that humans are capable of making good and bad decisions, and we have to have just an inkling of responsibility. So, when it comes to how Google and social media algorithms build user profiles for advertisers, I see it as a net positive.
I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of the upcoming Johann Hari book titled Stolen Focus. The book is coming out in early 2022, and it’s primarily about how technology has hijacked our attention. It’s a fantastic book, and Johann is a great writer. I loved his last book Lost Connections as well, and I can’t wait to have him on The Rewired Soul podcast to chat about this new book. There’s plenty I agree with in this book, but when it comes to advertising, I don’t feel like anyone points out the positive aspect of this.
For those of you who have yet to learn the basics about how these algorithms work and how these companies make their money, I’ll break it down.
Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and others are free, but they’re some of the most profitable companies on earth. How do they make their money? Through advertisers. An advertiser doesn’t want to waste their budget showing their products to people who have no chance of buying them. Why would you want to advertise diapers and baby formula to someone who doesn’t have a baby? You wouldn’t. What these platforms offer advertisers is the fact that they collect an insane amount of data on each user so there’s a higher probability that their ads will go in front of someone who is likely to buy.
There is plenty wrong with these platforms and algorithms from spreading misinformation to fanning the flames of polarization, but I don’t think advertising is the biggest issue. So, don’t get me wrong, I understand that since these platforms are designed to keep you on longer so they can make more advertising dollars that these other issues are a terrible consequence. But today, I just want to focus on the advertising aspect.
I don’t know about you, but I hate ads. Whenever I’m watching a YouTube video, and it gets interrupted by an ad, I get pissed. This is actually kind of funny because I have a YouTube channel, and I make some income from those ads. Even though I profit from ads, I still hate them. I even pay the additional few bucks on Hulu for the upgraded plan where there are no ads. I don’t do that for YouTube since they demonetize most of the videos I watch, so it’s not worth it, but you can get YouTube premium.
I personally remember all of the years where streaming wasn’t a thing, and we didn’t yet have DVR. Growing up, I had to watch every damn commercial there was. When I was a kid watching cartoons, it wasn’t so bad because they’d show me toys, but it got worse as I got older. When we started watching TV shows and stations with a broader demographic, we didn’t know what God-forsaken commercials were going to come on.
To paint a picture, I was a teenaged young man seeing ads for female hygiene products, medications for old people, and car insurance. Or I’d have to watch commercials for high-end cologne and fancy cars that I couldn’t or wouldn’t buy.
This drove me nuts, and I guarantee it drove you insane too. So why are we so enraged by these targeted ads on Google and social media platforms? I’d much rather see things that I’m remotely interested in buying that might improve my life than a bunch of stuff that I couldn’t care less about.
And this is where the argument comes in that it’s manipulating people into buying things. This is ridiculous on multiple levels.
First, can we recognize that since the early 1900s, they’ve been using psychology in marketing, advertising, and PR. Edward Bernays is a man that most people in marketing and advertising know because he started this whole thing. Since then, marketing and advertising companies have been spending more money than you can imagine getting people who understand human psychology to help them push products.
A great example of this is the stores you’ve been going to for your entire life. Do you know why the eggs and milk are in the back of the grocery store? So you have to walk past everything else to get to them, which increases your chances of buying more stuff (side note: how funny are the people who think they don’t need a cart, and then you see them walking with arm fulls of stuff that they keep dropping?). Then, think about the checkout counters that promote impulse buying. When you get to the register, they bombard you with snacks, drinks, candy, gum, magazines, and other little things you might randomly buy on the way out. At an electronics store, they’ll shove a bunch of phone chargers and other things near checkout.
The point is that if we got rid of social media and Google tomorrow, advertisers would still try to manipulate you at every turn. So, if we’re being realistic, it’s not going anywhere.
Next, let’s talk about being manipulated into buying stuff. Do you know how many credit card offers I get in my mail on a weekly basis? When you include the million coupons in there, it’s complete madness. Do I buy everything I see? Of course not. Nobody has a gun to my head making me buy things that I want.
When you sit here and argue that targeted ads are “making” people spend more money and buy things because it’s showing them stuff they want, you’re completely eliminating human responsibility. And I want you to realize that this is coming from a guy that has been terrible with money management for most of my life, but at some point, I had to become an adult.
If someone is sitting with $100,000 in debt because they can’t stop clicking on the perfectly placed Facebook ads, they have much bigger problems that we need to address.
Before these algorithms were even a thing, we all know people who opened up every line of credit they could to buy stuff that they don’t need. Hell, you might be that person. So, how can anyone rationally argue that targeted ads on social media is the problem? This is an issue that individuals have that needs to be worked on by the individual.
Personally, I just think it’s a low-hanging fruit to blame all of the world’s problems on social media. There are plenty of problems with misinformation and fueling hatred on the platforms, but I also like to get to the root of the problem. Advertising, propaganda, and misinformation has been around for centuries, and it’s not going anywhere. We need to teach people how to have impulse control, how to fact check, and how to be skeptical of what pops up on their screens.
At a certain point, it’s getting ridiculous that we think we have to babyproof everything to protect people from themselves. If you can’t go on the internet without buying something, first off, you’re in a better financial position than most of us. And second, maybe you should give therapy a try because something else is definitely going on.
I could write an entire book about how we spend our money as a way to signal status and impress others, but for now, just pause for a second and realize you’re not always buying things you want. When you see that you’re spending most your money to impress others and how silly that is, you’ll stop caring so much about targeted ads.
I’ve been working on organizing all the books I’ve read, and I have multiple lists of books on becoming a better thinker. There are lists for education, social issues, critical thinking, self-deception, and biases. For the rest of the categories, click here.
I’m always open for a conversation and to be shown what I might be missing or where I may be wrong, so feel free to email me at TheRewiredSoul@gmail.com