It’s difficult to spend time on the Internet these days without being inundated with advertisements.
Not all advertising is bad, especially if it saves you money and is targeted to your interests. But you may have noticed as you scrolled through social media or read the news online recently that the ads you see are often impersonal and not relevant to your interests. They are also sometimes dangerous and promote harmful and illegal medical products.
All of this goes against the common assumption that technological advances combined with greater collection of personal data would lead to a better online experience for people. Instead, it seems that online advertising is worsening people’s experiences on the Internet. Why does this happen? And can anything be done about it?
Annoying ads
People are more likely to engage in online advertising if it is personalized and relevant to them. Unsurprisingly, the opposite is also true: people find generic display and mass-targeted pop-up ads annoying. These types of ads are so annoying that they often lead people to leave the website.
Not only is this bad for people’s online experiences, it’s also bad for business.
And yet irrelevant advertising is widespread on the Internet. For example, a 2022 study found that nearly a third of ads on Facebook were irrelevant, despite the social media platform’s intensive user profiling system.
Another reason why ads are annoying is that they can invade our personal social media space and threaten our privacy if they are too personal. Do I want others to look over my shoulder at my screen to know that I am slowly losing my hair?
People express psychological ownership over their Facebook and Instagram accounts, even though they – the user – are in fact the product. They find personalized ads invasive and generic banner ads intrusive.
But these effects can be reduced if consumer privacy is respected. And if people have the ability to opt-in or opt-out of receiving ads, research shows that personalized ads will be effective.
Imagine receiving personalized ads about your favorite musician’s latest tour – and being able to unsubscribe from the ads once you’ve purchased tickets to the gig.
The problem is that many social media sites do not have an opt-out clause.
What drives the flood of annoying ads?
One of the main reasons for the flood of junk ads is that almost all online advertising is now automated. For example, in the United States, 90% of banner ads, pop-ups and other digital display ads are automated.
Often called “programmatic ads,” these ads are automatically placed on websites and social media feeds without human intervention. Total spending on these ads has increased from $4.99 billion in 2013 to $156.8 billion today.
The basis for the presence of ads can be contextual (something related to what you are viewing) or behavioral (related to your browsing history and search terms).
Without detailed consumer research into your motivations and interests, it’s difficult for a program to infer them from your browsing history alone. But that doesn’t really matter because the ads are cheap to produce (even if they have a low hit rate).
This high prevalence of programmatic advertising occurs online because there are no legal restrictions on the number of ads people are exposed to. This is very different from traditional media such as television.
Ads don’t have to be so annoying
Some users take back control of online advertising by installing ad blocking software. These can be free versions in the form of a browser extension or more advanced versions with subscription costs.
Some companies, like YouTube, have turned it into a business model by allowing people to opt out of ads. To achieve this state of bliss, you must pay an annual subscription fee.
But for those of us who can’t or don’t want to opt out, companies can also find simple ways to make ads less annoying — and more effective for the advertisers.
Read more: Not a great day as YouTube ushers in more AI and even more ads
For example, Google Chrome has stopped using autoplay video. This gives people more control over the advertisements they encounter online.
Another way to achieve this is by offering users more interactivity with ads. An example is carousel advertising, where you can scroll left and right while reading content. Interactive advertising increases the feeling of control and leads to greater involvement.
Creating compelling and relevant online ads is more expensive and takes longer to produce. But it’s probably more effective – and much less annoying.
