is it just my impression or are in-app ads becoming more and more intrusive?

like, i remember that once you usually had a small banner at the bottom or top side of the screen, and it would just stay there, not even visible for the most part while you navigated through the app. maybe it caught your eye at first, especially the flashing ones, but then your mind would just block it out. simple and unobtrusive.

then came the full-screen ads. just pop-ups that you could close, annoying but nothing you couldn't overcome in just a click.

i'm also convinced that you saw the image for so little that you barely registered the ads content.

after that, these pop-ups were designed in a way that if you missed the tiny "x" to close it, it would redirect you automatically by opening a browser page for the ad. how i loathed that.

then came the full-screen videos, but ig they were not that bad if you could skip them after 5 seconds. the really annoying part came when they made them non-skippable, it's crazy that you have to wait 30 seconds - up to 1 minute!! - to scroll through your feed. i feel like an addict writing this, but i miss the days when you could scroll undisturbed.

i think the designers behind all this have gotten really creative with the game ads. games you HAVE to play through in order to continue using the app. if you fail, which can happen - often they are not that easy - you get directed to the game download page and have to start over again. at times i wonder why i bother to go through all this, but i guess we're all a bit addicted after all.

tech companies know that, that's why they can afford to be this presumptuous. we're not paying for anything tho, so ig they have the full right to do that.

as a ux designer this matter fascinates me. i have read of studies that are demonstrating how these practices affect our attention span and overall mental health, but i think most of us are already in too deep to back off.

i wonder why ad-free app and social media alternatives aren't popping up tho? maybe the market is too competitive for that. i wouldn't be surprised if the tech bros went off their way in order to make sure they stay in charge.

finally! ad-free premium accounts. they have been welcomed with relief by everyone i know. what's a couple of euros in the face of returning to an ad-free world.

i'm a little pissed at this point. i guess it didn't take them long to return to feeding ads to paying users. you simply have to pay a little more to get rid of them again.

i don't think i will, let's see if it's bearable.

these ads are becoming so tailored to my interests, to the point where it's become a little scary. cookies work wonders.

at times it feels like it's listening to you, doesn't it?

ok hear me out this is going to sound a little crazy, but the ads algorithms have become so good that they predict what i might be interested in.

im sure i haven't expressed aloud the need for a washing machine, though i was complaining about the dishes a lot in my head. i'm also sure i haven't even looked one up on a browser or anything.

however, i got an ad for it the other day. it almost feels like it's reading my mind. i guess the cookies are getting smarter, huh. either it has actually read my mind or the algorithm knows me better than myself at this point.

sometimes it feels like i can see something in the periphery of my vision.

when i turn to see, of course nothing is there.

maybe i'm just stressed out.

i swear something is there! i almost caught sight of it. just a flicker of something, like glitter.

it's starting to freak me out a little bit.

i went to the ophthalmologist, he told me to get some eye drops at the pharmacy. they have a silly name, but i hope they help.

i think it's getting worse.

i can see almost constantly something like a small light square at the corner of my eye.

i went back to the eye doctor, but he only said that the drops might take some days to show improvement. apparently it has happened to other people, and he assured me it gets better soon.

i see it now. and i'm not the only one. i can't believe it... they finally did it. a god-damned ad banner.

i'm guessing anyone reading this can see it now, or will soon. it just stays there, at the bottom edge of my vision, always on focus.

i tried to blink it away but it only disappears when i close my eyes. maybe it needs light in order to be seen. i am looking at screens so much lately that after a while i barely notice it anymore. it's amazing how your mind can simply block it out...simple and unobtrusive, right?

it's obvious that tech companies are behind this, but i wonder how we'll prove it. maybe through ad revenues or something.

it turns out that it was Meta after all. and the others.

i'm scared at how everyone has just...accepted it. there have been plenty of protests, of course, but they only brought a huge lawsuit to Meta and some other tech companies, which evidently they could pay - it was something around 3 or 4 billions, almost a joke -, and nothing changed.

omg finally!! i'd been expecting this for so long. the ad-free premium plan! for an ad-free life experience. thank god.

well it just couldn't last for long, could it?

the premium plan now features the banner. if you stop paying, you get the audio as well. it's not loud, but it's annoying and constant. i tried it so you don't have to.

luckily they made the premium gold as well, you only have to pay a little more to stay ad-free.

i won't though, i think i can live with premium.

i wonder how far they'll go...

now when i close my eyes i can still see the banner.