this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2024
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Avoiding advertising is the best way to avoid influence, but remember that pretty much everyone wants you to change your mind ina way that benefits them. Avoiding influence altogether is impossible, and that influence is necessary to stay informed and make good life choices.
My advice is twofold. First, learn the logical fallacies and how to identify them. Second, account for uncertainty in your decisions. The most practical application of this second point is to favor decisions that leave you with more options in the future. This uncertainty should include you. Account for the possibility that your goals and views may change in the future, because they will.
Advertising goes way beyond fallacies. Companies are always finding ways to manipulate you. I could spend a year walking through a supermarket identifying manipulations. An easy one to understand is the ingredients of jam. If fruit is the first ingredient in your jam, then it must make it healthier, right? Take a look at the next three ingredients. Instead of using one sweetening agent, they use at least three so each one has a lower amount than the fruit ingredient.
New recipe! New size! Classic recipe! 20% more!
Don't let them tell you what you want and need. Marketers and advertisers will only lie to you.