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A comment on New iOS privacy feature may end an era of personalized ads. Parent comment

Re:New iOS privacy feature may end an era of personalized ads by ardy42 on Friday July 17, 2020 @01:14PM (#23872882)
> I have a serious question. Obviously if one were to choose between an ad-free experience and an ad-full experience, one would choose ad-free. But, if ads were needed for monetization, wouldn't you choose personalized vs non-personalized?

No. If I have to be surrounded by messages trying to manipulate me (which is what ads are, by the way), then I don't want them to be personalized for extra effectiveness (at manipulating me).

I don't really understand how some people seem to treat ads as some kind of neutral, helpful information source. It's almost like saying "I don't mind propaganda, since it's such an efficient way to find out what to think."

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Re:New iOS privacy feature may end an era of personalized ads by SebastianKra on Friday July 17, 2020 @03:10PM (#23874241)
Exactly! I feel like most people already don't realize how much they are being manipulated. Each day is a struggle against malicous influences.

Even though I'm aware of it, I still fall for YouTube recommendations. My brain still lights up when I see an ad for a product I recognize. I'm still impressed by the sponsored Amazon search results.

Personalization only makes this worse. Now, that product that I made the difficult decision to pass on will taunt and distract me even in situations when I should be focusing on different things.

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