Jim Murray

4 years ago · 4 min. reading time · 0 ·

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Digital Marketing Is Making Us All Stupid

Digital Marketing Is Making Us All Stupid

Di From
he Quiet Side
Of The Lake

Sometimes I like to put my higher education in philosophy to work and examine some of the larger questions of our time.

This week, I will attempt to discover how it is we all got so stupid.

Now don’t get all righteous about the topic. And don't take it personally. But do take the time to think about it.

Now let me clarify what I mean by stupid with an example.

Right now one of the things that’s making the rounds on social media is a series of stories designed to discredit and assassinate the character of former US Vice President Joe Biden, who according to several polls would have the ability to beat Trump in the 2020 election.

The stories are all about women who are alleging that Mr Biden was guilty of ‘inappropriate touching’.

But the turds who are disseminating these stories know us well, and that we probably won’t read the actual story in its entirety. So they make the headline sound pretty lurid and sensational, and that, for most of us, becomes our takeaway.

Now they can’t actually accuse Mr Biden of sexual assault or anything sexual at all. Mainly because there was no basis for that. The most he is guilty of is being overly affectionate, and demonstrative which is, to some people, disconcerting, but to most people it’s nothing to write home about.

And that’s actually what they say in the story. But you have to read the damn thing pretty much all the way through in order to get that.

But because nobody really has time to read every story out there, we just read the headline and maybe a paragraph or so and move on with the distinct impression that, contrary to anything you might have thought about Mr Biden in the past, what you think of him now is that he’s some kind of dirty old man.

And the longer we we continue to form our opinions about things the way digital media propagandists wants us to, I fear we will just get stupider and stupider about it.

Now you can’t go beating yourself up too much over being stupid in this way. Because, let’s face it, the game is rigged by the media itself. And these days a lot of the content you see there from people you don’t know is being created by cunning little turds in digital media boiler rooms, pumping out stories just like the one I told you in order to influence the way you think about things.

And it’s not only a right or left wing political thing. These stories come at you from every conceivable angle 24/7. Getting you to buy some potion that will let you lose 20 pounds in a couple of weeks, or make your hair thicker if its thinning, or curing almost any disease you can think of with a bunch of lemons and some  ginger root. Etc. Etc…you know the drill.

But because we’re stupid about this shit, we fall for a lot of it. Maybe we don’t always click through and buy the thing, but we think about it for a good long time.

Just yesterday I saw a story about one of those high definition antennas that allow you, in their words, to “kiss your cable or satellite company goodbye.”

The only trouble with this gizmo is that you can’t record anything, and if you’re any sort of TV addict like I am, you love your personal video recorder just as much as you love your favourite junk food. Maybe even more.

My personal theory is that the development of these products is funded by the advertising industry, because it’s one way to ensure that people will definitely end up being exposed to commercials.

All that not withstanding, literally tens of thousands of people buy these products, all of which eventually get outlawed through the lobbying power of the cable companies. But they keep coming back.

The downside is that after you have had one for a while, you actually find yourself missing the ability to skip over the commercials, and not having to be around to watch a certain show at a certain time and throw the fucking thing away, declares stupid yours truly, speaking from personal experience.

A lot of what goes on these days on line is some sort of con for some sort of product that isn’t worth a shit. But because we’re stupid and they make the thing look so good, we click through and order it.

This week I actually clicked through to the web site of an orthotic insole maker who was offering me a pair of insoles that would help me manage all my foot related ailments. They wanted $18 plus tax for the insoles, and another $17 bucks for ‘shipping and handling’. And of course they were offering a second pair free, except for the shipping.

Now I know that something like this would really only cost three or four bucks to send by first class mail, and I thought, well I can probably find this same thing at Shopper’s Drug Mart for about 20 bucks all in.

And what do you know? I did. It’s not gonna cure whatever I have that makes me feel I needed the thing in the first place. But getting us to entertain the delusion is how they win.

Sadly, many of us don’t do the math or think things through to any great extent anymore when it comes to on line purchases. We just dive right in without checking for rocks or other objects that could screw you up.

And these vendors count on that. And for every one of me who didn’t take the bait, (this time), there are hundreds who do. Some might even get a benefit from the thing they are buying. But it’s not likely to be the Valhalla that was promised to them. Not even close.

And the simple fact remains that basements and garage everywhere are stuffed with the remnants of these stupid impulse purchases. I know mine have been.

Post Script: I know we’re not stupid. It’s really just a metaphor for the word sucker, which, as the great WC Fields pointed out way back in the day…there’s one born every minute.

Having spent more than 40 years in the advertising business I have seen a lot of hucksters come and go, and sadly, they will always be there offering us a better mousetrap.

Today they’re doing it by telling us bullshit stories on line. And a great many of us find that shit simply irresistible.

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Comments

Wayne Yoshida

4 years ago #8

Funny timing on this Jim Murray -- my Office Space neighbor mentioned the movie "Idiocracy" - and said that movie is scary because although it is a comedy - it is becoming a documentary. Yikes, we are in trouble.

Ken Boddie

4 years ago #7

Exaggerated headlines used to sell newspapers, Jim, so now I guess they encourage clicks on SM. The difference is that now we are bombarded with so much crap, that our attention span has shrunk to flea size. Perhaps we are really becoming more stupid after all.

Jerry Fletcher

4 years ago #6

Jim, Stupid is as stupid does or something like that...And so it goes.

Wayne Yoshida

4 years ago #5

Jim Murray - Thanks for the fun lunchtime post - it is so true. We need News 2.0.

Jim Murray

4 years ago #4

#4
I like succor too. Thanks John.

John Rylance

4 years ago #3

Just noted the error in my comment, prompts me to add another maxim. Never give succour to a sucker.

John Rylance

4 years ago #2

I agree. I would add this comment attributed to W C Fields. "Never give a succour an even break" The mantra of many of the less reputable firms on line.

Pascal Derrien

4 years ago #1

a fair take I would say , we have become very complacent in many ways we accept way too many things at face value nowadays , critical thinking is out of the window and when it happens people cry wolf not only valid in the ad industry though :-(

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