Ads. Ads are a constant drumbeat saying whatever you have isn't "enough". That you should be striving for something better, or worse, that what you have now is crap. They drive a lot of the hurriedness in society. They drive companies to get your attention at all costs - they make your social network a cesspool of extreme politics, not because people wouldn't post them normally, but because ad money incentivizes the networks to promote them. They make your local news only care about grabbing your attention. Go somewhere without billboards and notice how much more peaceful it is. One of the properties of the nicest vacation spots especially where you're supposed to relax is that there are no billboards.
True, a lot of the economy wouldn't work without some sort of advertising, but I've felt that they almost always incentivize people to act against their own interests, and companies to stop treating the end users as a customer.
True, a lot of the economy wouldn't work without some sort of advertising, but I've felt that they almost always incentivize people to act against their own interests, and companies to stop treating the end users as a customer.