"And grandpa, what was great uncle vu4374fv18's fight?"
"He snarkily shitposted to the internet whenever someone cared about an issue that wasn't the most pressing societal issue at the time. Even if their profession brought them into closer proximity to one than the other."
I don't consider this a good rebuttal - Firefox has done stuff like pocket (not monetary but invasive) and search engine deals (monetary). Though it is pretty close.
I am at a loss for alternatives, but I am skeptical about advertising. Not in a completely general sense, but what bothers me is that much of it is manipulative. It uses images, sounds and movies in certain progressions to influence me, sometimes in a covert or unconscious way. Now, certainly a lot of other communication efforts are aimed at persuasion, but then, you often have to consciously go and find them. It is easier to filter (I can choose not to visit the opinion pages of website or its comments section). Advertising on the other hand crawls into your life from all directions (billboards, video ads that suddenly start playing, popups, street vendors) and is sometimes impossible to avoid. Often it's slick but shallow. It's like, you enjoy eating good food but instead, everywhere you go, you are being force-fed hamburgers. I do not want an information diet that fills up my working memory, costs me energy, manipulates my emotions and yet leaves me unfulfilled.
It is psychological warfare, conducted by corporations instead of States. But the objective is the same; trick you into changing your behavior to benefit them.
I don't know ... thinking selfishly, I'm employed and paid by a a corporation that uses advertises to increase revenues from their products/services. As are almost everyone else here. Even the "altruistic" non-profits and whatever are largely funded by the very same corporations. Will there ever be a time when economic activity is largely carried out by people and organizations that do not seek profit? If advertising increases said economic activity, isn't it a good?
If corruption increases said economic activity, is it a good? If destruction of the environment increases certain economic activity, is it a good? I'm not saying these things are similar to advertising, but the reasoning is flawed. That in the current setup of our economic system something makes economic sense, does not necessarily make it a good thing.
It uses your fears, your neuroses, your addictions and your need to remain involved and up to date against yourself as a way to extract your hard-earned resources and time.
Oh, I was mostly worried about how an advertising company was using my interests to decide whether to show me an ad for batteries or hair cream.