I would love to know from the rest here - isn’t a solution to the ad creep just… not buying things? Like going for second hand / refurbished, avoiding big brands for food and drink, and just not shopping online (ffs)? Or am I being naive? Enlighten me!
Of course working under the assumption that the government cannot (yet) admit to tracking us for more sinister purposes. That’s a problem for another day.
Yes…ish. Part of the problem is the culture, at least in much of the English speaking world, was moved toward consumerism, where it’s moral or amoral to identify with your purchases. In order to shift away from that culture you have to convince people what they have been doing has been immoral, which is nigh impossible with most people. Most people don’t want to admit they are monsters, and will hate you for making them even consider how their actions might be less than completely righteous and justified.
They’re (we’re) not monsters, they (we) are kept in fear and made complicit/complacent of a dehumanizing system.
and we all secretly know it