I accidentally clicked a shady YouTube ad that mimics an iOS “Storage Full” alert, reported it (twice), and Google still said it was fine. Meanwhile, Gemini flags it in seconds for deceptive design...
I’ve seen my niece and her friends get incredibly sexual ads on their YT before. Taught them both how to install adblock even on an iPhone and managed to make them not see that shit anymore. Mind you, my niece and her friends are FOURTEEN!
I felt like such an adult when they were getting excited that Fandom didn’t have ads anymore when I showed them what a DNS sinkhole is. This is what it means to be an adult. To use your wisdom to help the new generation navigate theirs.
Is it really praxis tho? Like it is just being a good guardian to my niece and her friends. I get it to an extent that ‘ads are the price you pay for using a service for free’ but to what end? Google is a massive company and should vet the advertisements they allow a lot more.
The fact children are getting highly sexual ads is a failure on their part and I see blocking ads as a fair reprisal to them until they can sort themselves out. It’s my civil disobedience as a consumer. Like especially these days with how massively invasive ads have become.
If it were me in their place I could imagine your actions being impactful, and inspiring further action or thought. At that age I was very interested in going against the grain. It was a different time, but not too long ago. Really no one wants to see ads, for sure, so it’s still a win, even if the anti-surveillance ad message is not of interest, you’ve still helped get rid of not just the annoyance but the malicious vector of a grab bag of random liabilities - modern digital ads.
My view is that 15 years ago (maybe longer) “ads are the price you pay” was valid. They weren’t tracking everything you do… yet. They’ve gone too far and until they stop there’s no reason for you play by the rules either.
I’ve seen my niece and her friends get incredibly sexual ads on their YT before. Taught them both how to install adblock even on an iPhone and managed to make them not see that shit anymore. Mind you, my niece and her friends are FOURTEEN!
I felt like such an adult when they were getting excited that Fandom didn’t have ads anymore when I showed them what a DNS sinkhole is. This is what it means to be an adult. To use your wisdom to help the new generation navigate theirs.
That’s the best kind of praxis, because it will (hopefully) outlive you.
Is it really praxis tho? Like it is just being a good guardian to my niece and her friends. I get it to an extent that ‘ads are the price you pay for using a service for free’ but to what end? Google is a massive company and should vet the advertisements they allow a lot more.
The fact children are getting highly sexual ads is a failure on their part and I see blocking ads as a fair reprisal to them until they can sort themselves out. It’s my civil disobedience as a consumer. Like especially these days with how massively invasive ads have become.
If it were me in their place I could imagine your actions being impactful, and inspiring further action or thought. At that age I was very interested in going against the grain. It was a different time, but not too long ago. Really no one wants to see ads, for sure, so it’s still a win, even if the anti-surveillance ad message is not of interest, you’ve still helped get rid of not just the annoyance but the malicious vector of a grab bag of random liabilities - modern digital ads.
My view is that 15 years ago (maybe longer) “ads are the price you pay” was valid. They weren’t tracking everything you do… yet. They’ve gone too far and until they stop there’s no reason for you play by the rules either.