Technology

Today. The entire city is filled with billboards and posters.

This post is an ad.

Honestly, that's a good question. I use a DNS level ad block and that takes care of the vast majority of them. I also use a lot of either open source software which does not contain ads or front ends to services that do contain ads that strip the ads out like newpipe.

Ahh so you're oblivious and don't realize you're watching ads. Not sure if that's a good thing.

I run ad blockers on everything, at a software and network level and still see ads from time to time. Let alone my friend posting on social media how great a product is they're sponsored to promote which is an ad.

You can block a majority of them but it's impossible to block them all, and you're delirious if you think you have unless you severely restrict your interactions with Internet-connected services or have spent days tinkering/blocking out most content.

Whenever I turn my VPN off to check my bank account and forget to turn it back on.

Depends on what you mean by "seeing an ad." An intrusive video ad on YouTube or another video site, or a bunch of annoying pop-ups? Nope, haven't seen one in years, either. Non-intrusive banner ads on sites I've specifically whitelisted in order to help them financially because I like their content and services? Yeah, seen those, but I don't mind them, and I never whitelist sites where the ads are intrusive.

I see hundreds of ads every day on almost every hat, T-shirt, shoe, hand bag, bus, bus stop enclosure, train, and car I pass throughout the day.

Hell, my neighbor just had his house painted so I literally can't walk around the block without seeing an yard sign advertising a painting company.

I applaud you setting up a pi-hole....

But please bro, you've probably seen hundreds of ads this month if not more. Not everything is listed on the pi hole ad lists.

And not every ad classifies itself as an "ad".

When I went to see a movie and because I've not done that in a while I forget that you don't actually have to turn up at the time that is on the ticket. You turn up about 20 minutes later so you don't have to look at car ads.

Only on TV and radio. And in magazines and movies and at ball games, on buses and milk cartons and T-shirts and bananas and written on the sky. But not on my personal devices. No, sir-ee!

I use sync for lemmy, so every time I go on lemmy I see ads. Also when YouTubers have in- video sponsor ads. I skip them but it's still an inconvenience. Same for podcasts

No adds on my Android phone, Linux and windows hehe

Laptop/desktop, almost never

Phone, getting better, but don't quite have it sorted, especially since I'm constantly playing browser bingo and situations like links from Lemmy frequently get me watching cancerous websites because I've got the wrong browser that worked last week but not today set as default.

I know I'm not supposed to use it because something something the owner is a terrible person, but Brave has been the most effective YouTube browser since vanced died and I'm not savvy enough to get revanced.

Every day at the subway station. Huge TV is playing ads.

I look up my windows, and see ads on buildings, also again huge TVs playing ads.

In my elevator there is an announcement for the building Christmas party, that's an ad, it's relevant to my immediate interests but it's still an advertisement.

I see ads on my phone every day because I don't know how to block ads on the YouTube app and I still want their algorithm recommendations so I don't use the other apps that pull from YouTube.

Every single time I log in and windows wants to upgrade from windows 10 to windows 11. Every single time I have to use edge at work. I've got a pihole and DNS ad blocking and so on. I don't generally see ads on my phone or personal computer. The switch shows me new upcoming games etc. So does the PS5. Plus I get flyers in the mail and see billboards etc.