What if we banned all advertising? Not regulate it—abolish it. This proposal would transform manipulation machines, and maybe save democracy itself. A thought experiment worth considering.

The idea feels like sci-fi because you’re so used to it, imagining ads gone feels like asking to outlaw gravity. But humanity had been free of current forms of advertising for 99.9% of its existence. Word-of-mouth and community networks worked just fine. First-party websites and online communities would now improve on that.

The traditional argument pro-advertising—that it provides consumers with necessary information—hasn’t been valid for decades.

  • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    0·
    17 days ago

    Okay so Lemmy, Jerboa, Phone, ISP all were found via advertising. So if I am enjoying this conversation, every facit of it came to my notice via advertising. Word out mouth and online discussions are advertising