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Ad companies are the ones destroying civilization (lemmy.world)
submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) by RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
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The internet runs on ads.

Ad companies pay for all the “free” popular social media we use. Ad companies dictate to social media what their clients want their ads to be associated with, not associated with, and drive media of all kinds to push inflammatory and click-bait content that drives engagement and views. It’s why you indirectly can’t swear, talk about suicide, drugs, death, or violence. Sure, you technically can unless ToS prohibits it, but if companies tell their ad hosts they don’t want to be associated with someone talking about guns, the content discussing guns gets fewer ads, fewer ads = less revenue, low-revenue gets pushed to the bottom.

So lowbrow political rage bait, science denialism, and fake conspiracies drives people to interact and then gets pushed to the top because it gets ad revenue. Content that delves into critical thought and requires introspection or contemplation languishes.

Ads are destroying society because stupid and rage sells views.

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[-] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago

The difference being that good journalism doesn’t die because I’m too lazy to get a cookie.

[-] PoastRotato@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

Well, no. It dies because you're unwilling to fund it. Because apparently finding your wallet is too much effort.

[-] alonsohmtz@feddit.uk 1 points 2 days ago

You are a useful idiot trying to come up with ways to avoid admitting how you're being taken for a ride.

[-] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

And multiply that times a few hundred million lazy humans and now you know why real journalism is dying.

It’s not a viable business model because people are people.

[-] entropicdrift@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

It's not a viable business model because of capitalism, not because of human nature.

You're describing a form of the tragedy of the commons.

[-] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

Totally. If people didn’t have to worry about material needs it would solve a lot of things.

this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2026
390 points (100.0% liked)

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