This is especially what I mean when I say, "Advertising is theft of time and attention."

First, they steal your time and attention, then they lock you into a consumer's cage with debt, and the whole time, you think you are 'choosing' the life you have.

They know. They fucking know exactly how it works. It's a science now. They fucking brag about it. Anyone that tries to do the 'intellectual' thing and write a book or detail the mechanisms becomes a pawn; co-opted as part of the Continuous Improvement Plan. You tell them what they are doing wrong by telling them what they are doing right (to them), and they will learn how to make it more efficient from the criticism.

Religions have been doing it for thousands of years under the premise of 'morality'. Modern marketing and psychologists made it into a blood sport-literally. They play everyone's fears and competitiveness until the hopelessly trapped are shooting anyone they perceive as weaker or a threat to their hazy inflated paranoia.

Sex sells. Hate sells. Violence sells. Death of a few sells shiny noisy crap to the rest.