Are you getting sucked in?

Where are you getting sucked in?

I want pizza. Two minutes ago, I wasn’t even thinking about pizza, yet now I want it. I desperately must have it.

I can taste it—my mouth waters. The deliciousness of it is so real. The thick crust, oozy melting cheese, and the chewy juicy meat on top. Oh, especially pepperoni!

Is it too late to have pizza? What time is it? Can I still get pizza? Where will I get it? Do I have the makings of it in my kitchen? I must have it now!

But wait, my reasonable, rational side of me argues back! You don’t eat pizza anymore. Remember, you are plant-based and gluten-free.

I quickly toss out that argument. Who cares? I argue back—just this one time. Surely one time won’t hurt me or damage my health!

Oh yes, it will! No, it won’t. Yes. No. Yes. No. The argument in my head rages on.

Does this sound familiar? Where did this sudden desire, out of nowhere, begin? It didn’t just pop in on its own. There was something, a catalyst, that started it. So, what was it?

For me, it was an advertisement on TV—a commercial for pizza showing a juicy, delectable, yummy pizza. I didn’t just think of pizza on my own. I didn’t even want it until the advertisement triggered it. So, now I have to have it!

Does this only apply to pizza or food? Certainly not.

You name it, and I’ll guarantee the desire to have something in your life, the desperate need you feel, was not yours. Instead, it came from an outside source. Or a long-held belief that gets triggered by some external stimulus.

These days it is most often driven by advertisements, whether in a formal ad format or incorporated into a TV show. As a result, you are flooded with promotion after promotion everywhere you go.

”Digital Marketing experts estimate that most Americans are exposed to around 4,000 to 10,000 advertisements each day. As media channels emerge, so do new advertising opportunities.” (Red Crow Marketing, Inc.)

And according to a study by the Harvard Business Review,  “At the heart of every advertising message is a message that we are not as happy as we could be without their product in our lives.” Supposedly, “this item will lead to a happier, easier, more convenient, or more luxurious life.” Instead, they stir discontent, and the more ads we see, the more unhappy we become.

Did you know that ads still influence you whether or not you remember them? They show up in your behaviors and determine when, where, what, and how you purchase. They show up in what you accept or reject.

They motivate, urge, and press you to order and eat pizza late at night. Or, go online and buy that air fryer even though you had no idea you even wanted it!

It all began with someone, somewhere outside of ourselves, that told us what to think, be, and do; it tells us to take action. And without realizing it, we agree.

So how do we avoid falling into the trap, or being sucked in, by all those ads?

Here are a few suggestions by Joshua Becker, Becoming Minimalist:

1. Do more things that make you forget to check your phone.
2. Watch less television.
3. Unsubscribe from email newsletters, magazines, and junk mail lists.
4. Go shopping less.
5. Configure your computer to block pop-up ads.
6. Don’t ignore ads; see through them instead.

Of course, removing every advertisement from your everyday life is impossible. However, Joshua concludes, “there are certainly positive steps we can take to limit them—and become happier because of it.”

The one suggestion I believe is most valuable is # 6. Why? Because, in many cases, we have no control over how ads enter our lives. They enter via billboards, bumper stickers, huge signs on buildings or panel trucks, in a movie theater before the movie begins, or on a restaurant menu, to give a few examples.

The danger is we tend to think ads do not influence us. “We foolishly believe we are unaffected by them. Or we assume they are not influencing our thoughts if we aren’t paying attention,” says Joshua.

Yet, they are.

Instead, see through the false promises. “The more you recognize how a brand is trying to subtly stir up discontent in your life, the less likely they are to succeed.”

As to my craving for pizza, I did what #6 suggested. I saw through the ad for precisely what it was – A false promise that the pizza pictured would satisfy. I noticed what falsely triggered me and shifted my attention elsewhere.

Plus, I reminded myself that less TV watching was a smart thing for me to do.

This time I caught the game advertising played in my life and said, “No, thank you!” So now it was time to see where it influenced me in other areas of my life. Have you noticed where ads have influenced you?

 

 

Article by Joan Silva published in the monthly Crockett Signal magazine.

March 2023 Issue.