Ads today are way out of control. Several years ago, my sister and I got out an old VHS of cartoons we used to watch as kids for nostalgia. I think we were watching My Little Pony or something. We were so used to the commercials lasting five minutes, we kept way over-speeding through them on the VHS. Back then, they only showed about three short commercials and then came back to the show. Now, the commercial breaks last at least five minutes.

Also, they are cramming in ads in places that were never meant to show them. For example, they shrink the credits of a show to about 25% of the screen, and then show ads for another show or commercial in the remaining 75% of the screen, while an announcer is dubbed over talking about a third product or show. Also, they cut shows down and truncate out certain parts in order to fit more commercials in between. They also truncate commercials, cutting them off a little early to fit in another ad.

And if you notice, often you will see what looks like a glitch or blooper, where one commercial ends "early" and then you see the very end of another commercial, or the logo flash on the screen briefly. This appears to be a timing glitch on the programmers' part, but I'm certain it's on purpose in order to get more ads in. If you recall, that never used to happen. Then you'd see it once in a while, and you'd just think it was a small glitch. Now it happens with almost every commercial break. Trust me, it's no glitch. It's fully on purpose as a means of fitting in more ads still.

I was exercising this morning, and I had the television on Nickelodeon. Then Nick Jr. came on, along with Dora Explorer, but I couldn't stop in the middle of my routine to change it, so I just let it go. The enormous "Nick Jr." logo in the right-hand corner of the screen was there (and if you notice, those have also gotten a lot bigger, and while they used to be intermittent, they are now constant) and it was so big that it was interfering with the show. Dora was looking for Boots, and said to the television, "Can you find Boots?" I was a bit shocked when I actually couldn't find him. Then the mouse on the screen pointed to something that was completely covered up by the giant "Nick Jr." logo. Turns out, Boots was in the lower right-hand corner, but no one watching could see him because Nick felt the need to remind everyone what they were watching.

Another thing you never used to see was ads in the middle of a program you were watching. For example, while I watch SpongeBob, they flash a banner or something on the bottom of the screen. These banners used to be short and small, and rather unobtrusive. Now days, they can take up to a whole HALF of the television screen in the MIDDLE OF THE SHOW. Also, they now make noise, where they didn't before, and they are also a lot longer. They used to be relatively bearable, but now they are completely impossible to ignore, and I'm offended at how frequently ads are forced onto me.

I'm just disgusted at how far the industry has taken everything. And sadly, I only foresee it getting worse.


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I try to use logic, but sometimes my emotions get the better of me. I'm a really sensitive person. I honestly wish I weren't because I feel things too deeply, I think, but I can't change how I am.


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