I saw a post a while ago about the insane number of ads we see in a day. Theirs was obviously too large (I think they said about 1000) and idk if they were exagerating, lying, or the average person sees more ads than I do. Anyways, I was curious what the actual number was, so I decided to count for a day. Here are my results, biased because I started avoiding ads once I saw how many I was getting:
2 killer sudoku levels = 6 ads (bottom bar + midway video + ending video. Turned wifi off for further levels)
tv in lunch room = 8 ads (this would have been much higher. I was there for only a bit and after 6 ads decided to mute it and face away from the screen for the rest of lunch)
accidentally opened microsoft edge = 1-5 ads (the default home screen has sponsored stories)
expanded file manager app for android = 1 ad (bottom bar)
I forgot to write down the ads during work. I'm guessing my google searches had sponsored posts, and the help sites had 3 banner ads each, popups, and the like.
language learning app = 2 ads (2 lessons of 5 minutes, ad at the end of each)
4-6 youtube videos = 24 ads (ad when you open the app, ad when your search for video, 0-2 ads before video starts, ad on top of video, midroll ad, ad at the end, ad underneath video before suggestions)
2 curiosity google searches = 2-6 sponsored results (not sure if these count as 1 or 3)
google play store = 3 ads (games/apps "suggested for me")
1(?) hour on Tumblr = 31 ads (sponsored posts and tumblr messages, not blazed posts. Show up in feed so easy to scroll by, but wow that was a lot)
So in total, depending on how you count them, on that one day of trying to avoid ads I still saw:
75 to 86 ads
In one day!! And that was trying to avoid ads! I pay for ad free music listening, turned off wifi to play sudoku, muted the TV at lunch to not hear the ads, and stopped using both youtube and tumblr much quicker than usual because my ad count got so high on them.
This wasn't even counting the billboards I'm sure I saw along the road, or if I'd have turned on the radio, or looked up a recipe, or the ads I get in the mail daily. I also didn't count the ads I saw during work itself. I'm fortunate enough to work in an office job which I'm sure has far fewer ads than the average job, but I still get promoted google results, and all of the help sites have popups and like 3 banner ads each that refresh the longer you stay.
It just feels so futile and inescapable. It's pushing me more and more towards paying subscriptions for content and supporting physical, non-streaming media.
