I realized this myself spending more time on social media. The more I see accounts I follow promoting something, the more I get put off by the product.

Same with video ads. The more I see them, the more I don't want them. They feel pushy and forced. It annoys me. It doesn't encourage me to spend my money.

So now I am wondering if I am not alone with this. And this kind of marketing could be hurting businesses big and small.

I would say yes, but not always. It depends on the context. Like if someone is being interrupted over and over again or seeing people all talk about the same product on social networks, it might encourage some people but I think this sort of thing would put off a lot of people. The only times ads work on me is when I am already looking to buy something and the ad nudges me. If I am not looking to spend money (outside of on things I already need), I am not going to buy something.

It probably does but if the profits outweigh this over a certain period of time then the companies will just eat the loss. It is all part of marketing. Larger companies can afford to eat a loss.

I think so. I find myself being annoyed by them. A lot of people also know how to use ad blockers as well, at least on PC. I know mobile takes a bit more tinkering to block them and not everyone knows how to do that.

I think a lot of people get put off by this but because they see net gain from it - i.e. the money spent on ads = higher revenue they still view it as being useful.

Until it becomes a net negative, they will push on.

On 8/31/2026 at 10:42 AM, Ryyyan said:

I think a lot of people get put off by this but because they see net gain from it - i.e. the money spent on ads = higher revenue they still view it as being useful.

Until it becomes a net negative, they will push on.

Yup. There are still plenty of people that see ads and buy stuff after seeing them. If they didn't work, they wouldn't have ever done them. This is no different than TV commercials.

Ads never bothered me, I enjoy some of them when they mix in humor. What bothers me is when "influencers" lie and promote products, often the same products. So I see the same handful of people saying the same stuff. Being paid to promote something they likely don't even like themselves.

On 9/3/2026 at 8:38 AM, donnie said:

Ads never bothered me, I enjoy some of them when they mix in humor. What bothers me is when "influencers" lie and promote products, often the same products. So I see the same handful of people saying the same stuff. Being paid to promote something they likely don't even like themselves.

I have seen people talking about this more now that you mention it. I guess it can be annoying when you are trying to avoid ads and the people you follow for news or whatever keep promoting the same stuff. I don't mind people doing cause I would do the same if I had a platform to earn from!

I do agree, the influencer thing is a bit much. Having people show products they would likely never even notice or buy themselves to their audience and trying to pander and sell it to them. But if I was in this position, I would probably do the same thing. Revenue is revenue!

Anytime I am forced to watch ads or get interrupted when I am not expecting it, it makes me mad. It doesn't make me want to buy something lol

On 9/24/2026 at 10:26 AM, dougchimes said:

Anytime I am forced to watch ads or get interrupted when I am not expecting it, it makes me mad. It doesn't make me want to buy something lol

This is how I am. I grew up expecting ad breaks during TV shows and programs. You can expect them to happen every 11 to 15 minutes or so. These days, it seems like we are forced to watch ads in under 10 minutes and they spam them everywhere. I can't stand it.