I’m not really against ads. I think the problem is in the influencer style business model. People are making a living fighting to get clicks by driving negative emotions. That’s the problem. ‘Influencer’ should not be a legitimate job. There is definitely a way to allow business to advertise without the negative externalities. It just requires regulation, which is basically impossible in the modern political climate.

Guess I didn't take the same econ classes, I thought providing value to the customer was what capitalism ran on. I go to the butcher next door without having seen a single ad about it. They just sell a "better" product (according to my own criteria) than the supermarkets around.

If tomorrow (please take a second to imagine) that ads were banned and it worked (effectively 0 ads anywhere) I would still read journals that review new boardgames, I would still need products to fix my bike, etc.

It's value that makes capitalism run, not ads.