I have a friend who’s alcohol consumption has gotten out of control. Me and his other friends/family are planning an intervention and so I’ve been doing a lot of research/reading on the topic.

NEVER and I mean NEVER have I seen so many fucking ads for alcohol in my LIFE. Instagram? 15 ads in a half hour of scrolling reels. YouTube? Ads. Google results? Ads. Twitter? Ads.

It’s fucking everywhere and it’s SICK. I’m researching how to help someone stop drinking and I’m getting inundated with ads for anything from gin, beers, vodkas and more. I can’t even imagine having an alcohol issue and trying to find help for myself with the web being this way.

It’s fucking sick.

  • @BosnianCevapEnglish
    28•1 year ago

    Switch to Firefox, duckduckgo, don’t use google of at least turn off personalized ads

    • @transmatrixEnglish
      28•1 year ago

      I don’t think they’re looking for solutions. I think they’re imagining their friend and others in their friend’s situation that decide to do something about their drinking problem and find that as a cruel joke they’re now inundated with alcohol ads everywhere they go. They’re pointing out yet another example of how capitalism without guardrails sucks.

      • @[email protected]English
        13•1 year ago

        It does go to show the necessity of adblocking software though. It’s not just a trivial convenience at the expense of sites’ ad-revenue, it’s necessary for online safety.

        • @Anomalous_LlamaOPEnglish
          6•1 year ago

          Absolutely

          My desktop and laptop both have adblocks on them amongst other things. But I’ve been doing a lot of this research on my iPhone.

          • @[email protected]English
            4•1 year ago

            Download Wipr or use Firefox Focus. There’s loads of ways to block ads on an iPhone.

            Or make a PiHole. I did years ago and I fucking love it. PiHole+Wipr=hella zero ads.

            • @Anomalous_LlamaOPEnglish
              6•1 year ago

              Dam. I didn’t know there was something like Wipr for iPhone. Bought just now. Thanks

              I’ve looked into doing a pi-hole actually. Just never got around to grabbing a pi

              I have a few small/low power HP machines. I wonder if I could just use that since I already have it on hand.

              • @[email protected]English
                1•1 year ago

                I just learned about Wipr recently! It does a better job than Firefox Focus at blocking.

                I loooove my PiHole. I set it up years ago and haven’t touched it in forever. I should update it today!

          • @[email protected]English
            3•1 year ago

            If you’re still looking for resources (particularly if you are needing non-religious resources) a lot of health systems have outpatient programs and support groups for various substance use disorders, so that would be a good place to look. Depending on how severe the problem is, presenting an open and non-judgemental front regarding medical intervention and medication use can help reduce the stigma of getting chemical help for a chemical problem.

    • Granite
      9•1 year ago

      Also add either ublock origin or Ad Nauseam as Firefox extensions