Unprecedented times call for unprecedented media consumption. News articles, blogs, opinions pieces, factoids — like the borderline manic hypochondriac my mother always knew I’d grow up to be, I’m reading all of it. Or, at least, I’m trying to.
It’s a little hard to read anything when a split-second after I click a link my screen is flooded with 14 different ads and three invitations to sign up to receive more of this same visual cacophony in my inbox on an hourly basis.
As I’m trying to read past the click-baity headline, the images on my screen are jumping around like a toddler on Pixy Stix while my computer labours to load the flood of information all at once. Christ, is that a seizure coming on? No, just a ton of dazzling Flash images desperately trying to make me part with what’s left in my bank account.
And yeah, I get it, ad revenue pays for creators and outlets blah, blah, capitalism. I know. But content should not be made to be a delivery system for advertisements, like it’s the white bread of the world’s least-in-demand crap sandwich.
If it takes me a full minute to dodge pop-ups, stop automatic videos from playing, and wait until all the first-priority ads have finished loading, then why are you even posting content to begin with? Just make the entire page ads and stop pretending like you’ve got anything else to say.
The very least you could do is cut it all back a bit — only until I find another ad-blocker that gets around my browser’s current controls. Then you’re free to flood the internet again with your bullshit consumerism to your hearts’ content. I promise I won’t mind at all.
