I got assulted with a youtube ad recently I couldn't believe how bad it made me feel and I don't really know why. At least the ads on twitter are generally amusing in a way where it's some ai furries that look like kids or some outright scam, but having an ad pretend to be my friend / relate to me felt so offputting that it doesn't even make sense.

This. Even watching cable TV in a hotel room feels like a different life.

OTOH, my (teen) kids get a kick out of watching commercials sometimes, because it's something novel to them and they say it actually helps bring their attention to stuff they had no idea existed..

IIRC the wide use of adblockers in the US constitutes the largest consumer boycott in the world. Obviously there are some caveats that come with that statement, such as how you can simply download a specific browser and you're technically participating, but still interesting to me nonetheless.

The parent's cable is so bad. First of all, the ratio is way off. Like 60% content to 40% advertisements, and I'm being generous. Then it's SO LOUD. Maybe the decibels aren't actually higher (I think that was outlawed?) but these ad firms employ some top notch sound designers that make their ads almost impossible to tune out.

I have no idea how this is still a viable product. Coasting off Boomer's 50+ year old habits I guess?