[savanaly]

I made this edit right after I posted it so perhaps you didn't see it, but I added:

"Note that even if there is a gain to efficiency because of lower prices, it may be completely offset by the cost of advertising itself (costs being the cost of consumers having to be irked by looking at them and the effort that went into crafting the advertisements)."

I think that speaks to your comment about the lost productivity of users of the web. I do think all costs should be considered, absolutely. Didn't quite follow your last two paragraphs. You seem to have a gut feeling that all the costs outweigh all the benefits? I have no such gut feeling.

[mercer]

While I have no strong gut feeling as to the total cost/benefit, as someone who has studied marketing and spent quite a bit of time in the sector, I get the impression the cost of advertising itself is very high, perhaps even dwarfing all the rest, comparatively.

And the industry as I've seen it is not particularly efficient/cost-effective or pleasant either. Most of the shoddiest work, unhappiest employees and shittiest bosses/manager that I've encountered were in this sector, by far. The only environment where I got a similar vibe was a bank/insurance company where I worked.