Ads have become so embedded in everyday activities and media consumption that you may not even notice how often you run into them.
When my editor asked me to track all the ads I saw in a day, I wasn’t sure how it would go. Prior to this experiment, I hadn’t paid close attention to how often an ad or sponsored content floated before my eyes.
While the words “sponsored” may show up on a video or image you scroll past on social media, the font is often small and if the content is successfully targeting you, you may not even notice.
I missed a few ads during this process, especially on sites where I was focused on getting the answer I was searching for. But based on what I did catch, I spotted over 130 ads in a single day.
Let’s dive in.
Your settings can (sometimes) make a difference
The type of ads you receive may be adjustable in your settings. But for most platforms, you won’t be able to control how many you see.
To personalize Google ads, for example, you can go to “My Ad Center” and opt to turn personalized ads on or off in the top-right corner. If you turn them on, Google will use the information it collects about you to give you more personalized ads. That means your activity on Google sites and apps will be saved in your Google Account and information from your account, like your age, will also be used.
I decided to keep personalized ads off for Google because that’s how I usually have it. This resulted in me sometimes missing ads on my screen. I’m so used to seeing random photos and brand names in the corners and sides of my screen that my eyes glazed over some of them. It drew a sharp contrast to my experience with social media ads, which are fully personalized to my activity on and off-site and often pull my attention.
When it comes to social media, you don’t have as much of a choice — although some do let you pay to remove or decrease ads. Facebook now offers a paid version in the EU for people who prefer an ad-free experience, YouTube lets you pay for Premium to remove them, and Elon Musk’s X says paying for X Premium+ means no ads in your For You or Following feeds.
But TikTok, for example, says on its website that “you will always see ads based on what you do on TikTok.” But you can provide feedback on an ad if you’re not interested in it. Other social media sites have similar ad policies.
With TikTok, Instagram, and most apps that you download on your phone, you can turn off ad-tracking across companies and websites in your privacy settings.
My social media feeds were filled with ads
I spent about two and a half hours on Instagram on the day of this experiment — and I saw about 75 ads.
I probably never went through more than four posts at a time without being interrupted by an ad. But most of the ads were similar to content I regularly engage with in my explore feed or online.
I find ads with multiple products and links particularly effective because it’s easy to engage with them and find out pricing or other details. I also loved seeing sponsored food content because it gave me ideas of where to go out to eat.
None of the ads resulted in me purchasing any items, but if I continue to see interesting ads in my price range for weeks at a time, it may eventually influence my buying patterns.
For TikTok, the ads were even less noticeable because the app is so casual. For example, I would start watching a woman wipe down her counters and then see Mr. Clean at the end of the video before noticing the “sponsored” label at the bottom. I also found some of the TikTok ads interesting or helpful.
I didn’t engage at all with internet ads
I tracked about 40 ads online, but since they weren’t personalized to my interests I sometimes didn’t notice them. I saw a range of ads from USPS to T-Mobile, to random shows on streaming services that I had no interest in.
Sometimes, they were images, and other times, they were full videos. I also saw a couple of ads on YouTube videos but usually skipped after a few seconds, so I didn’t fully engage with those either.
Miscellaneous ads
I use the language-learning app Duolingo every day and those are the only ads I truly dread. The ads are animated with sound and I sometimes put my phone down and walk away because of how painful it feels to watch.
I also saw about 10 ads in real life on the subway on my way to and from work. By the end of the day, I noticed these less, but in general, they tend to stick out more than non-targeted ads on the internet.
I also receive several push notifications and ads over text every day. I counted about seven on the day of this experiment, including a push notification from Urban Outfitters about a flash sale, a text from CorePower Yoga for discounted class packs, and a push notification from Amazon about trending sunscreen.
Most of the ads don’t bother me
My biggest takeaway from this experiment was that I really didn’t mind the ads. In fact, sometimes I liked them.
I love online shopping and browsing — and I like that apps like Instagram curate content to my interests. I’ve discovered new brands on Instagram that I ended up ordering from because of ads. Even if it doesn’t lead to a purchase, I enjoy seeing items that fall in my line of interest and inspire me to look at similar products.
The push notifications and the texts were probably the most annoying of all the ads I received, and I find myself deleting them on a daily basis.
I also don’t follow too many influencers, but I immediately scrolled past content if I saw it labeled with “creator earns commission” or if it included a discount code in the caption because I’m not interested in paid content from someone I follow for enjoyment.
As far as Duolingo’s ads go, yes, I find them annoying — but I also wouldn’t pay $12.99 per month to get rid of them.
It’s clear that we’re seeing more and more ads on our phones and TV screens — Netflix and Amazon recently introduced ads to their streaming services, although both offer ad-free options for an extra cost.
Luckily, I’m on my roommate’s plan for Netflix, and my family has an Amazon and Spotify subscription, so I don’t have to deal with these. I sometimes watch Hulu shows and the ads are annoying, but I usually walk away if an ad comes on.
For me, watching or listening to an ad is the most frustrating, and I would definitely be bothered if I was constantly interrupted by them. When I was growing up, I found radio commercials unbearable, and I might have paid for an ad-free option if I still had to go through those several-minute interruptions.
But the honest answer is I’m used to ads by now, and even find some genuinely interesting. We’re living in an advertising world — and if I have to deal with sponsored content for clothing brands I like while scrolling on social media — then so be it.
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