Hello Freedom, the Facebook ad read. In the first photo, a
scantily clad woman arches her back, as nimble as Gumby. In the second, she
twists sideways, lithe and graceful in her midriff-baring cotton top. She is
maybe my age, but thinner, like some of those gym gazelles I envy. You know the
ones—they complain about buying a size FOUR at Anthropologie last week, so
they’re adding spin classes to the seventy-five hours they do on the treadmill.
I hate her. Also, I want to be her.
Hello Freedom. I imagine the ad is for a diet miracle that will
make me as slender as she is. Or maybe it’s an energy drink—never tried one,
but hey, if I could stretch myself into laws-of-physics defying yoga poses and
look like her I’d give it a shot. Or maybe it’s for an arthritis pill. Like
many women my age, I creak and groan in the mornings, my joints protesting even
a short venture to the kitchen. I’d love freedom from that.
But no. Hello Freedom, the targeted ad on my Facebook feed, is
for PEE-PROOF UNDERWEAR. Is this the demographic where I now belong? Does that
poor flexible woman have to be careful lest she mess herself during Bikram
Yoga?
I don’t want to disparage the problem. It happens, and the day
will come when I complain about it. And it’s sure not something I want brought
up on Facebook: “Hey, I just bought pee-proof panties! How many likes can I
get?”
It worries me what targeted ads will appear next. Gingko Biloba
to help with memory issues? Funeral home specials?
I prefer ads for river cruises in Europe or Alaska. Give me pics
of cotton flowy dresses that I can imagine myself wearing without looking like
a mattress that escaped its fitted sheet. Or pet products—show me that latest
litter box miracle, or the dog toy that can’t be dismembered in fifty seconds.
But please, Facebook, I’m begging you. No more ads with this
woman in my feed:
How do you handle annoying ads on your social media feeds?
I admit to having an excellent filter when it comes to Facebook ads. I don’t see them at the right of my page, where I never look. I skip over them in my feed without really noticing what they are.
ReplyDeleteIt does make me a bit leery about buying a FB ad for my books. Since I write the kind of books I like to read, flawed logic might suggest my readers also ignore FB ads – and so I’d be wasting my money. Sort of like Hello Freedom was on you.
~ Jim
LOL - Gotta wonder - I do sometimes notice the FB ads on the right of my page too and sometimes try to figure out just what search they came from. Writers must drive FB nuts. Glocks were showing up in mine recently. Sometimes I'll search for things just to see if FB picks up on it. We must drive the NSA nuts!
ReplyDeleteLike Jim, I wonder about buying an FB ad for these reasons and because I keep reading about how annoying FB posters find them. I accept that FB has to make a buck, but it is a bit creepy that they mine our Google and Amazon searches for their ad targets. And in your case Shari, who knows where they got their info for that particular ad - perhaps from some mental stretch that you had visited yoga sites?
Calls to mind the old story about the two young boys who plunk a box of tampons on the checkout counter. The clerk asks, "Are these for your mother?"
ReplyDelete"No," says the older one. "They're for my brother," nodding at the other boy.
"Your brother? Why?"
"Well, the ads say you can swim and ride a bike if you use these, and he can't do either one."
My FB ads reflect what I've researched recently: how much damage does a hammer blow to the back of the hand do?
ReplyDeleteQuite a lot, as it turns out. I changed the weapon.
My FB ads were all manner of hand tools and culinary equipment.
I need to ignore the ads! They are like shiny objects and I don't turn away!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been on FB in many months, but for several years my FB feed has included ads for real estate agents in the Seattle area. I love getting on the east coast and I've never been to the state of Washington.
ReplyDeleteMy job requires me to check on- line obituaries first thing every morning. If I used my work computer to access FB I imagine that my FB feed would include ads for estate planners and funeral homes. Probably in Seattle.
Deb Romano
I accidentally hit Publish before previewing my post. Meant to say "I live on the east coast". My phone changed it!
ReplyDeleteI'm new to Facebook, and only developed a presence because I've been told I need an author platform. It surprises me the number of ads and things I receive that I didn't expect--from companies that I didn't befriend. So how am I getting their stuff? I guess I'll have to break down and find a copy of Facebook for Dummies--if there is such a thing.
ReplyDeleteI rarely go on Facebook except to say Happy Birthday to a friend so I never notice any ads. I only watch a few shows on PBS so I don't see many ads there, either.
ReplyDelete