Whether it’s scrolling through Facebook or watching the latest sporting event someone is constantly trying to sell something.
In the last few years, advertisements are more out of control than ever before and the flood of information is harming our society.
The number of products advertised to us has gotten so carried away that people are trained to tune out the sales pitch, rather than focus on the outpour of ads exposed to them.
Advertising used to come in the form of television commercials or highway billboards but today people can’t access the internet without coming across a few advertisements.
The stream of commercials on television seem endless. Facebook used to be a site for social networking but has become a news feed dedicated to ads. Whether its billboards on the highway or promotions on social networking sites, it’s impossible to avoid daily ads.
Not only can ads reach us faster, but there is more of them. In 2009 cable television averaged around 14 minutes and 27 seconds of commercial time for every hour. By 2013, it had jumped to 15 minutes and 38 seconds.
Not only is there more commercial time, but 30-second ads are being cut in half. Now more ads are shown in the same amount of time.
Last quarter Facebook saw a huge increase in the amount ads were seen on their website, jumping up 49 percent. With the rise of the internet, newspapers are seeing a slow and steady increase in online ad revenue.
Having more ads doesn’t make them good. A majority of ads try to entice the viewers without actually giving details on what the product is. They either use bad jokes, skewed facts or some celebrity isn’t credible.
I don’t understand how Matthew McConaughey makes the Lincoln MKZ more worthy of a purchase but companies will still profit from these ads.
Last year drug companies spent over $5 billion on ads as if our country needs more pharmaceutical drug use.
Not all ads are bad as some help bring awareness to issues, like alcohol and tobacco risks. Ads can warn people of serious issues, and everyone is usually touched by pet adoption ads.
Ads and commercials are so prevalent most people don’t notice how encompassing it is in our day-to-day life.
Jeff Guzman can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_news on Twitter.
