Advertising is Destroying Everything | Max Stossel | TEDxUNC

Max Stossel discusses the true cost of our attention economy, and why we need to align the incentives of tech & media companies with human values over ad revenues. In this talk he explains how when everyone profits off of our attention, we all lose.
Max Stossel is an award winning filmmaker + poet with a unique style of storytelling. His work consistently goes viral, has been featured by the majority of major digital publications, by Lincoln Center, and has been written about in 12 languages. Before entering the creative world, Max spent 8 years creating social media strategies for fortune 500 brands and building a social network. The merging of these fields allows him to provide a fascinating perspective on modern culture and how technology is impacting humanity.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@fanenthusiast3802]

Ads are a crime against humanity

[@Mr_Originality]

Lol

[@chocolatewheelchair]

I agree. They’re really bothering me lately.

[@ro6493]

Cancerous time stealers

[@TheLastWizard]

@@Mr_Originality The average person will spend between 3-5 years of their life watching ads.

[@IvanGarcia-xy7tj]

I stamp dat

[@glassycreek1991]

When i remenber which brands interrupted my videos i intentionally ban them.

[@anniesue4456]

Lol Liberty Mutual haha the thought of using them makes me angry so sick of their invasive ads been with Geico 30 years NOT changing WTF

[@ethanbenner6995]

@@anniesue4456 15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more.

[@jakefox589]

Every time I see an ad it makes me more and more unlikely to purchase item they are advertising and despise said company

[@barrypascoe960]

I too, have come to the same conclusion, wasting MY TIME and being manipulated emotionally, but, I also am concerned we are wasting resources with things such as "Block-chain Mining". We are facing a "New World Order" ... (Where we will OWN NOTHING and be HAPPY, according to these manipulators) organized by the "World Economic Forum" and the Leaders of China and North Korea etc. using methods such as "DEFINITY the "Internet Computer" to control us. (News released this weekend June 3) We have the exact same power at our disposal, to shrug them all off, if we put our collected minds to this. (I just realized - I am an anarchist) Remember Governments can not run a "Pissup in a Brewery" they have amply demonstrated that for over 2000 years, today with their computers they can stuff up MORE PEOPLE, MUCH QUICKER! Governments should only take care of our "Rubbish Bins" and look after our Parks and Roads. and ALSO DO EXACTLY what we pay them to do, WORK FOR US! We could create our own Internet computer by creating a program such as "SETI Institute" which uses your computer during off peak times to process data collected from Space. Of Course, there are powerful computers currently mining data which can be put to better use, such as solving complex problems like Climate Evolution, Energy generation from new sources, (Such as "Static Electricity" like Nikolai Tesla, not Elon.) as well as other equations such as Vaccine development including THOROUGH TESTING, (My wife used to work at C.S.L. Australia in1959, during development of the Polio Vaccines. She well remembers the extensive testing required before release. ALSO SOME MAJOR BLUNDERS BY DRUG COMPANIES, such as THALIDOMIDE"!) Combating threats to world peace by greed, if we are all involved with this new system, how can there be any animosity to a "Friend in China working with a Friend in Australia, USA, Canada, NZ, UK, Germany or anywhere else", we all will be working towards the same goal running this planet properly without corruption as we could have the same power that the WEF etc. in regards to controlling this new currency, these greedy people could be controlled by the Crypto currency being turnoff in their wallets. I am well aware this will NOT happen overnight, but the sooner this is organized, the better for all. I will leave this out there for those clever Hackers to put their talent to GOOD USE for the benefit of the masses. As long as they do this correctly to be a real benefit for everyone - not just for a few greedy people, show us your real talent and become "Hero's not Zero's". This message has come about because I have been studying Block Chain programing, I have been long concerned with Bitcoin vulnerability, along the way I considered the Blockchain "Nodes". So many are simply spinning their wheels trying to be first to solve a complex logarithm. Once ONE node solves this logarithm, then all nodes use has finished, until the next logarithm is presented, this quiet spell could last for a fraction of a millisecond, a lifetime in computing. Only ONE NODE will benefit on each logarithm. What I am saying is the entire current situation is totally out of control not just for Crypto but the entire planet being manipulated, the Stock Market,(Remember the Big Short) the Crypto Currency values, the entire monetary situation. There are several "Smart Arses", with their fingers on the levers who think they know what is good for everyone, but these few are the only one's who are going to be benefiting with their tinkering. AHHH bugger!! I completely forgot that there are some people who think that all of the above is only a conspiracy theory. They must be living under a rock or on another planet. I hope they have a look at a futuristic movie made in 1973 "SOYLENT GREEN", Take note of the year this is set in and realize at 80 years old I would no longer exist in the scenario projected, but some of the predictions are already on the way.

[@ConanDuke]

Rule: If I see an ad, I make a mental note to NEVER buy that product / service.

[@ronmcmurray3544]

with you.

[@DiscusvissenRocken]

Good!

[@thewizard1]

Based

[@veson231]

Yep

[@davidkorgan7069]

Same

[@basedsocrates8072]

this is the first piece of media I've been able to find that even talks about this topic not from the perspective of "how can we steal more time and make more intrusive ads." Why is this not being discussed? this is, in my opinion, one of the most important issues to address in the world today, and yet I know almost no one who has ever mentioned this or agreed with me when I brought it up, I never see anything about it on the internet, and when I look for it, I can't find anything. These corporations control what you see, I guess it's not hard to figure out what they don't want you to see.

[@jackallen6562]

Exactly my reaction - "Free" has never been more costly, and none of the gatekeepers has an interest in letting us know about it.

[@liveelbaraka3371]

I Literally just typed "advertising business is ruining everything"... I've noticed for a while now that time and attention is being robbed from us. Around the time toktok got popular and UTube started showing two ads minimum.

[@maxwellquipey1]

@@liveelbaraka3371 *Tiktok *KZbin

[@liveelbaraka3371]

@@maxwellquipey1 Misspelled on purpose you moron!🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️. It's to avoid the op.

[@JaysonT1]

@@liveelbaraka3371 Been like that since at least the 1950s. It just keeps getting worse and you're just now noticing it.

[@frankx8739]

Advertising is the prostitution of time.

[@tremainw1413]

"Advertising is based upon a legalised, yet increasingly industrious, deception - one which repeatedly seeks to marry the world of sales, to the divorce of our money."

[@whyareyoureadingmyname5747]

I hate Ads

[@jmwloup5110]

Potato TATO i got an ad before this

[@jesuiscrespo]

Who doesn't?

[@isidoreaerys8745]

I hate captalism

[@connorcheney5873]

Sounds like there's no money to be made in helping us thrive, so that'll never happen

[@thebluedot4728]

exactly

[@leafyveins4985]

The only solution in today's world is to stop letting yourself be brainwashed. We have to choose what and who we want to be. I deleted my Facebook, I don't use Instagram anymore, I don't look and I turn the volume down when an ad comes on. Advertising is melting everyone's brains. Every time I see an ad it makes me feel absolutely furious and comptemptuous towards whoever made it, and I am 95% more likely to NOT buy whatever it is they want me to buy.

[@harxey]

I am doing something and then I get interrupted by something.. I skip.. I do whatever I can to not retain that product in my mind. If I see an advertisement I go out of my way to never use it.

[@Death_Jaw]

I think the same way

[@MrShreyz]

Phew , Had to skip a 4 min ad to watch this !

[@crimsonmask3819]

Three ad interruptions in this 17 minute video. Two ads each.

[@bertvanherck7964]

This talk brings the topic from "faintly aware" to "blatantly clear" ... thank you!

[@MaxStossel]

Thanks Bert

[@hospiceresident70]

It has gotten way worse since this was posted 5 years ago

[@davidkorgan7069]

Seriously

[@deenanthekemoni5567]

Owners of Google; "we only recieved 83.4 Billion dollars in Profit this quarter.. who's fault is this?? Someones getting *Fired* , unnacceptable."

[@fratercontenduntocculta8161]

The only thing modern advertising has done for me is cause me to never purchase from or engage with the company who makes the ads. It's exactly the opposite of what they want and it suits me quite well, especially now when voting with your wallet has been proven to work. To me it's not the ads themselves that are the problem, but their level of intrusiveness that must be reduced.

[@ro6493]

And then the advertiser will be like "why aren't they buying? Don't we advertise enough??" And then make more annoying cancerous ads

[@BurgermanForever-nh2vp]

The best option we have is to enact stricter regulations on ads

[@charlesnims2647]

Probably the best and most important video I have ever seen on youtube.

[@MaxStossel]

Thanks Charles

[@Kevin-sr8yx]

I would like this comment, but I don't want the algorithm to know more about me.

[@MaxStossel]

@Prince Cooper Thank you brother

[@johnbradley1948]

@@MaxStossel I7

[@MagnusFeirenbacher]

for as long as I can remember I have done my best to avoid products and services that push their ads down my throat.

[@chaddwamboldt9763]

This is not only the single greatest Ted Talk I've ever watched but probably the greatest AND MOST IMPORTANT thing I've ever seen on the internet. Max Stossel, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION!!!

[@himanshusehgal8695]

Great content throughout the presentation.. As is mentioned in presentation, this video was a "time well spent"

[@MaxStossel]

I'm tryin :)

[@MusicMath123]

Adblockers for internet RULES!!!

[@joanneweiss3864]

Mesmerized the entire talk, how intelligent and what an excellent goal to strive for! Most TED talks I don't stick with but this is phenomenal!!

[@placto9512]

I believe that when you could earn money from KZbin, that ruined it. It's what happened to KZbin that was its downfall.

[@Raiden-the-Goat32]

I do not think that is the cause of it's downfall so to say. I think the downfall of KZbin is a combination of them trying to be a parent to every kid while illegally advertising to them. Then to add another detail turning on their content creator's for their own screw up's and how youtube does not know how to advertise to people. You have alot of problem's with KZbin that are contributing to it's downfall. The point is I need audiobooks to help me sleep at night and I would ditch youtube if I could. So do you know of a free audiobook streaming service? I would really appreciate.

[@Raiden-the-Goat32]

Well the point I was making Is KZbin's downfall is a combination of thing's and would like to know of an app to replace youtube.

[@BurgermanForever-nh2vp]

Ads were cancer loooooong before youtube even existed

[@jwalker277]

when you see an Ad, don't buy that product, or vote that party.

[@coindog6336]

Ok, so don't buy anything or vote for anyone. Got it 👍🏻

[@alexweschler9470]

@@coindog6336lmao this was my exact thought

[@OneNidim]

The best Ted talk of all time

[@Future_Pheonix]

I wish more people watched and shared this video..

[@randomstuff-qu7sh]

Based on how divided we are in 2021, it seems this video isn't off the mark. That said, its hard to convert people from a free model to a paying model. We're so used to getting it for free and most don't realize the price that's being paid.

[@christophegenbrugge6815]

@@eye776 i'll gladly pay 20 bucks to have a service wich combines, youtube,netflix,amazon ect on one app. i'm not paying 15 different subscriptions. Sick of that...

[@gregoryrau3894]

Excuse my cynicism. Paying for services that enhance my life sounds well worth it, but that is not how the world works. What we're probably going to get are services with great ad campaigns that claim they'll do all you say, but don't. Also, this will exist in a closed/monopolized market where these services are our only options. Moral: Don't trust companies to enhance your life. Do it yourself.

[@BurgermanForever-nh2vp]

This only becomes more relevant. Ads are a detriment to our species

[@intrasomnia7666]

Bill hicks warned us about this 30 years ago

[@RobertHolzapfel]

Thanks, great speech! I enjoyed a time being inspired and informed, instead of distracted. Please continue to spread this presentation.

[@pboregft6681]

And it starts off with an add ...

[@Maddy7Official]

Best video ever...very knowledgable and mind- opening

[@zigaudrey]

I hate advertising. They have an exaggerated look on a product to make you sell. 7:26 They are powerful manipulator of our sense. They exist to sell without critical thinking. Not to mention how they get stuck to your head! 9:05

[@realtimetvke]

This is the best video I have watched this year

[@murraydyeronemillionyearsa3637]

How ironic is it that i had to watch a commercial before i watched this video. The world is f......d

[@zharriott2010]

great vid.. I'd just like to point out that right after the video I went to add it to a playlist I keep and as I was typing an advertisement played behind the modal and it instantly distracted me. I didn't even care about the product but it illustrates your point well. As someone in tech, I'm going to remember this well.

[@ElanSunStarPhotographyHawaii]

synchronicity

[@MaxStossel]

Once youtube autoplays, facebook has to to keep their marketshare. So does twitter... etc. An arms race for our attention where we all lose

[@heavy_chevy.0194]

The problem with most ads on KZbin now is that they just literally make up a company that they think you’ll be convinced to click on, and you’ll be met with no website at all or some sketchy website

[@dianablackman4528]

Multiple answers to the same info request depending on one's "profile"?? That is total corruption of an information system!!

[@charlesbarkson]

all the modern day advertising has lead me here so yes i agree with the title of the video and nothing else needs to be said.

[@bains273]

Double thumbs up!!!!

[@thamimotloung1073]

Thanks for sharing such important information , we grateful to people like you # theres hope 4 this world

[@maipham6845]

Watched Great Hack on Netflix before and found this talk is so much related.

[@mikegarrens5286]

There was even an advertisement waiting to watch this video when I clicked. When you click on to any video. The video isn't the main issue its the advertisement before it.

[@wgv929]

KZbin and Pinterest have ruined the Internet. I’m done with it all. .

[@Mazxlol]

I don't think people wanna change, they love this system.

[@chriswalker4272]

Such a considered look at how Google is changing us, awesome.

[@gopalakrishnans2003]

great..... terrific !....

[@charlesbarkson]

yup ads are only getting worse and i treat them like the thought poison that they are

[@lydiaarlon1214]

So what do we do

[@DrSanity7777777]

“The glory which is built upon a lie soon becomes a most unpleasant incumbrance. … How easy it is to make people believe a lie, and how hard it is to undo that work again!” - Autobiographical dictation, 2 December 1906. Published in Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 2 (University of California Press, 2013)

[@anniesue4456]

I love Mark Twain I've read everything he ever wrote

[@holybiblelive2201]

Thank u sir

[@fawazsullia5620]

Exact reason I quit digital marketing

[@sanityisoverrated6705]

And that's why I always blacklist add done by big companies. And I'll usually support the smaller ones.

[@utmostsubmarine2914]

Best keyword ever made..

[@Nubenhoofer]

Has anyone else had an existential freakout because you seriously wonder if you are in fact just an ad in the simulation?

[@nicollym.a.]

Great!!!

[@cosiDIVerso]

"free" means both something that doesnt need to be purchased, but also indicates something that is -for example- sugar-free. And so we go rights-free on the web

[@kewaldangal8750]

Thank you

[@vijayarya9528]

great one. Than you all very much

[@user-hk2hp4ur6u]

Brave browser for PC . NewPipe or YT Vanced for Mobile. No more ads.

[@chocolatewheelchair]

What about Roku and IG?

[@mj-zu5iu]

Great speech hopefully people who can change it will listen... doubt it though

[@caiusjuliusmartel]

8 adds, 8 ads were the price to watch this video entirely

[@christopherc3214]

Not if you use brave browser :)

[@BurgermanForever-nh2vp]

Use. An adblocker. Many are free. Ffs. Why torture yourself?

[@caiusjuliusmartel]

@@BurgermanForever-nh2vp thanks pal, i know what an add blocker is, i have one. I watched it exceptionally on my phone where i didn't have an adblocker since i almost never use it for yt. I said that because it is kind of funny that a video about "advertising is destroying everything" is sectioned by so much adds. The paradox of it is the reason of my comment

[@kmbmeeko]

I like this idea and I feel like if Facebook stayed at $1.61 per month per person (not including overhead tho...) it wouldn't be such a big deal to Americans and Europeans, but it might be too heavy a price for people who live in countries with worse economies. And I'm sure the price of Facebook would continue to rise over time.

[@pascalxus]

and yet, the ads I recieve are so untargetted, so incredibly off target, so ineffective, that I virtually never ever have bought anything that's been advertised. boy, if i was the advertiser I would not be happy with the ineffectiveness of ads.

[@plusxz821]

No comentemos todavía si la publicidad es un bien o un mal, solo que hemos encontrado el origen de la publicidad en aquello de lo que nace los peores males de la sociedad. La publicidad después de todo es un mal, un mal necesario para sostener nuestra propia imposibilidad; Una sociedad perfecta en la que no hay publicidad no lo sería, una paradoja de aquiles puesto que sin publicidad ya no tenemos las comodidades que vienen del otro lado del mundo, del mismo modo puede o no que seamos más felices sin ninguna de estas pero considero que primero tenemos que hacer las bases de una sociedad ya globalizada que nuevas buscar nuevas formas de publicidad, una maduración como especie sobre los sistemas de control y manejo corporativo que tanto nos aislan de las demás personas

[@geoffhalsey2184]

Some adverts are pretty good, most are terrible, but one of the great things about getting older is that you don't buy stuff because advertisers want you to.

[@myrthegreenfield2281]

You are a Poet Rapper of Truth!💓🍀

[@PeachDragon_]

Ads should be illegal

[@DrSanity7777777]

I'd argue that human nature does this to itself without technology. People look for what they want to see in life.

[@MaxStossel]

Of course, but tech has poured huge amounts of gas on that fire

[@DrSanity7777777]

I suppose I am eluding to the fact that the issue isn't just systemic but the dependence on systemic inadequacies have definitely left us more vulnerable. I have the urge to mention indifference and dependence. I propose that Facebook would be more aptly named as Vanitybook. Systems mirror the participants intentions, they are the result more than the cause. “The glory which is built upon a lie soon becomes a most unpleasant incumbrance. … How easy it is to make people believe a lie, and how hard it is to undo that work again!” - Mark Twain

[@DrSanity7777777]

Your work is important, Max, and I appreciate your content. You've been on the other side and seem to have come back with your values intact. I should have expressed my appreciation a little better. I think you've touched on a deeper issue though, that is detachment of propietorship. Look into how this affects advertising's ability to persuade.

[@ohn9ne]

Advertising is cancer.

[@shrimpboat7565]

The solution he gives is arguably as bad as the problem. Pay even more give your life more quality. Monthly subscription slavery mode activate. Everything will be commodified.

[@tryingtobecool1142]

Agree

[@SynthD]

We use to buy products. Now products buy us.

[@Mr_Originality]

Stop crying

[@mcnasty4207]

Ads have destroyed TikTok. They had a good run, too bad.

[@a1karolina]

13%

[@Tom-mu2ci]

I don't know what I hate more, the rhyming or ads... At least the rhyming is something fun than human beings do, it's just not my thing. But ads... ads are soul vampires

[@thebluedot4728]

they don't have to resort to that, they are making a choice to do that 9:30

[@DerekReed]

He turned it into poetry with a.i. help i think

[@hafizengku]

if the product has ads. i ll never buy it.

[@kirsty8566]

PETITION TO STOP NON-SKIP ADS. (Don’t like just comment)

[@noice8985]

Yep

[@cloudthief8918]

Soon, KZbin ads are going to be as long as TV ads..

[@p.bamygdala2139]

If you take away an income stream, then some enterprising executive will find a way to restore thst income to get a bonus. Example: more ads embedded into the content. Hosts will be required to push products and weave it into the story. Or worse, the entire video will become a thin vinear for the ad. There are always tradeoffs. Perhaps "non-skip ads" is not so terrible?

[@traceylamplugh5133]

What can we do?

[@coldboltlighting1237]

Mobile, rage shadows legends because I don’t want to see that add ever again, wired as can be adds, or ones that drive me up the wall. Etc

[@Rishabh_Sharma]

I’m deleting KZbin after watching this

[@manuelsilva1999]

Let the advertiser's destroy there market with all the excessive advertising. Thay have some compatition now.

[@rdalybread]

KZbin right now is bombarding videos with relentless ads every couple of minutes making it unbearable to actually watch youtube videos 😒

[@carterrobinson7735]

Yeah!! @youtube

[@BurgermanForever-nh2vp]

I wonder why youtube never recommends this video. Hmm.

[@vixxcelacea2778]

Advertising as it exists shouldn't be legal. You shouldn't be able to manipulate emotions and human needs/wants with the advertisement itself. It should go like this Product name: Name of product (This is the only part that can be flowery, like Super clean, Extra strong etc) Product use: What you use it for Product availability: Where to find it Price: Selling price, not retail. Retail is a made up idealistic price the production wants to sell it as. No one sells it for that price. Ingredients: Self-explanatory Legal restrictions (allergies or other pertinent information regarding efficacy, safety or legal stuff regarding the product, like risks, side effects, sustainable practices etc.) That's it. No models, no endorsers, no flowery language, not even music beyond elevator. Boring, plain, to the point. This would also force companies to actually make a good product, because the success won't be from advertising, it would be from word of mouth and people talking about how X vacuum is good or better than another. Basically, advertising shouldn't be an industry. Products should speak entirely for themselves if you want both innovation as well as competition in a free-market. Right now, it's just a game of who can convince more people to buy, not that the product sells on it's actual use and how well it is at the thing it's for.

[@theorangeoof926]

Products such as cartoonish characters on sweets targeted towards children were made plain and simple, effectively sterilised the appeal and draw of the product which obviously made children healthier. Anything with tobacco is now being forced to adopt homogeneous packaging, meaning that the package will be standardised and filled with health warnings to dissuade adoption.

[@Mr_Originality]

Oh lord stop crying

[@shatteringshade7749]

If they bring advertisement in my dreams I'm out

[@PopGoesTheology]

2:24

[@johnsonter1358]

Half the ad's don't even make sense an I literally blur everything out of my head. Any company I see on Facebook I will boycott.

[@chocolatewheelchair]

It’s impossible

[@sensitive.s0ul]

more people like this should be in government

[@filipebeat]

ads feels like death

[@lukeludwig1055]

I highly doubt they know is better than our moms. Targeted ads are still terrible at convincing me to buy something. The youtube algorithm is terrible at finding me something interesting to watch. These systems 100% dont know me better than my mom lol

[@Mr_Originality]

Those Targeted ads aren’t targeted towards you that’s why you weren’t affected.

[@kewaldangal8750]

Addvisting add all bisuness data

[@chocolatewheelchair]

The panda is dancing! They know I like pandas dancing cuz I keep searching for it and they want to sell me panda dancing shoes, hats, gloves and a panda boom box and more!

[@darthclide]

He is talking 3D chess. 4D is when you realize money is a made up construct and that there is no physics based reason we can't have KZbin, Netflix, etc for free (no ads, no subscriptions)

[@chocolatewheelchair]

But how??

[@kewaldangal8750]

Crowed add also advisting but open my photo allow only

[@jaym5938]

Give humans something completely different and they'll be just as distracted. The whole premise is flawed; but, of course it returns results. These info-thieves overrate themselves.

[@jmbrady1]

6 years later and it is only getting worse

[@Woolong-ql1jh]

And now we have ads on products that we pay for.

[@chocolatewheelchair]

Ad are ruining my life

[@kewaldangal8750]

Suoport by communitey guideline