I had no idea about this. 🤯

Temu is like the modern version of the Publishers Clearinghouse sweepstakes. People pay to play.

fortunately the olds do not have a smart phone or net. Their main deluge of garbage pipes in through a landline. QVC was all prompted over TV. (We plan to install net and a camera if our long term solution is not executed.)

We made very good progress before the FIL died and slightly more progress has been made since. We have total financial control. The house is under maintenance (ignored for 8 years). Only internal family disagreement on a long term care solution lingers. BIL is signing himself up for stupid depressing work...we have made our position very clear.

@noplasticshower

I feel very lucky that I have a friend who's into sustainable fashion, who made me think about the question, "What had to happen to get you that product at that price, or more to the point, whom did it have to happen to?" BEFORE the rise of Temu, so that I was preinoculated to see their whole approach as exploitive and offputting.

Unethical UX is the bane of the digital world. I get so mad about manipulative, exploitative and downright predatory designs. There should be laws against these things.

But you make a great point, @futurebird. It's not anything new. We had "TV Shop" in Norway and it was also mostly overpriced junk.

Shopaholics need someone to confront them with the issue, because if they don't seek therapy and deal with their addiction, it becomes a huge problem - as you so aptly stated.

@uguisubari

The human mind evolved to listen to and mostly trust other people. I don't really think the average person is set up or well placed to be the sophisticated research-driven type of person you'd need to be to be immersed in advertising all day without being influenced and at times tricked.

The simplest way to avoid being tricked or manipulated is to not see ads whenever possible.

... I still kind of want those "Swords of History" ... *eyes ebay furtively*

The thing I've gotten in the habit of that slows my susceptible nature basically amounts to I can't click buy now right away if my credit card is in my purse in the other room. Then ADHD makes me forget all about it after I walk through a door twice anyways.

@futurebird @uguisubari

@uguisubari

Yes, avoiding ads is the best defense. Lord, protect me from temptation.

This is why I avoid browsing through Kickstarter. I am susceptible to Kickstarter campaigns. Thankfully only 2 that are open. The Tariffs situation is getting me to avoid Kickstarters because even the US based ones depend on manufacturing outside the US.

So some ads just fly buy me and ads related to my hobbies make me a sucker. I suspect most people are vulnerable to ads based on subject.

@uguisubari

I'm like that with the product placement of food. TV kid eats ice cream, I want ice cream. Don Draper gets a beer, I go get a beer.

@uguisubari I find my Depression protects me from a lot of Advertising

"Everything is shit and I'm trapped on a Late Stage Capitalist World"

Does wonders for your pocket!

@uguisubari a few years ago I was having a conversation with someone about how one of those Gordon Ramsay shows kept trying to convince us that Walmart sold really high quality meat, when their reputation is the exact opposite

And their reaction was "oh I didn't know Walmart sold good meat"

The advertising worked on them second hand, even though I was only telling them how ridiculous it was

I was shocked at how susceptible they were!