Suppose you are on your way to watch a match in the stadium, on your way you come across many ads. In the stadium, the players will enter with shirts inscribed by ads on their back—even written in bold letters of the company sponsoring them. You will be amazed to see the advertisements everywhere in the stadium—even those streaming the match live will be subject to watch them in break times. On your way back, you will be see large billboards advertising products, brands, and new-launched items in the market.
In social media, while streaming videos, ads will recommend product. In YouTube, they will make their way—after every few minutes. While watching TV programs, in every interval you will be compelled to watch the advertisements of corporates, and multinational companies. We are now living in a world ruled by ads. These ads are, definitely, determining our consciousness, our likes, and dislikes. They determine what should we wear, eat, use, watch, and purchase. So, are these ads ruling our choices? Are they not compromising our ever cherished Free Will? And, why have they become so powerful?
“Humans certainly have a will–but it isn’t free.”
Yuval Noah harrari
It is a no doubt fact that, the ads are curtailing our free will. As Yuval Noah Harari puts it that “Humans certainly have a will—but it isn’t free.” A world flecked with ads can easily manipulate our free choices. The food delivery service, gymnastic goods, dairy products, or cosmetic items persistently advertise their products thus making us to image an incomplete life without their services or products. A life without an iPhone, branded clothes and cosmetic is unthinkable nowadays. People adore new products, crave for new launched clothes, and want to use new cosmetics on their skin. All this thinking is because of the never-ending advertisement.
How have advertisements hacked our free will?
How have advertisements hacked our free will?
Propaganda is a powerful tool when utilized in effective way. In the same manner, in history Hitler used the tools of propaganda to propagate his Nazi ideology against the his opponents. He claimed that a lie told too frequently will erode the truth and people will believe in it. Similarly, the corporates and companies are frequently hacking and manipulating the human mind while compromising human free will and free choice. When an advertisement of a product is shown too frequently and many times a day, it erodes the reality and free will. These corporates have become so powerful that they can now sell us anything what they want, be it a politician or a new-launched product.
Why have these ads become so powerful?
If we dissect the mechanism of this cycle, the point to discussion should be the growth of consumerism. It is the rampant growth of consumerism that has led to the rise of plethora of advertisements. Consumerism tells us to be happy, we must consume more products. It dictates us that the ethos of modern life is about using more products, consuming more items, eating more, wasting more, and buying more brands. Every television and newspaper advertisement tells us that to make life better and more pleasant we must consume the product or service. People have no choice to make an independent decision of their own. All the purchasing are, overtly and covertly, based on the advertisements which we consume on our daily basis. These ads have become, now, our subconscious reality of items and services which we consumer.
Equally contributing factor are the forces of unbridled capitalism. It was due to the rise of capitalist forces and laisse-fair that have brought the idea of advertising. Capitalism encourages competition and competition begets consumerism. The trio are the sides of the same shade, capitalist commandment is to invest, competition commandment is to advertise more and more, and the rest commandment is to buy. The world moves in this vicious cycles.
What are its consequences?
The cherished ethos of our democracy are being compromised. How can a democratic culture claims that “voter knows the best” when our free will and choices are being traded-off? The powerful corporates are dictating the rules of democracy as governments and corporates manipulate and hack human mind and cognitive abilities. Similarly, what is left of the capitalist argument of “customer is always right”? Are companies and corporates not deciding our choices? Indeed, the age of advertisement has diminished our Free Will and what else it is costing us we may not know.
About the Author:
Jahanzaib Mengal
SIT AlumniJahanzaib Mengal has done his graduation from Qauid-i-Azam Univeristy Islamabad in International Relations. His field area is International Politics, Indian Ocean, and National Security.