ads in print are one of the few ads I see as somewhat okay. if I want to go and look in the classified section of the newspaper for a car or a specific service or something else, fantastic. I can choose to do that and then look away and do something else. it isn't moving and flashing in my face, it isn't assaulting my ears, it isn't even a smell that's been carefully engineered to be recognisable from 30m down the street. it's still not ideal, especially when it's a full colour spread on the first page of the publication, but it's better. the other ads I see as acceptable are for example in the window of an estate agent or in a brochure for a particular service or set of services. stuff you have to actually consent to see

When I was growing up in the east, we received boxes of recorded TV from our relatives in the USA. I loved watching all the ads especially the toy ads. All my friends wanted to hangout in our place because we have so much movies, cartoons and tv shows on VHS.

They also sent us boxes and boxes of magazines. We had a stack of National Geographic magazines that was at least seven feet high. We had Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Popular Science/Mechanics, and others I can't remember now.

There is a name that we used, for a few precious years, that describes most digital advertisement nowadays: spyware!

(And uh, yes, adware, but that's usually the programs themselves. A website with intrusive ads is adware, but the ads are spywares)

Exactly. The ads aren't just passive images or video, they're also actively trying to weasel information out of your personal device.

Fits the definition of spyware.

The larger problem is that this behaviour has been normalised to such a degree that "the world wide web" as a whole could be described as spyware.

I like coupons, which are ads. Companies are paying me for my attention. Maybe I get a few dollars off a sandwich that I otherwise wouldn't have bought, but it's a pretty fair deal.