Effects of New Forms of Advertising

In Kieran Healy’s article “Digital Technology and Cultural Goods,” we are posed with a recurring question in today’s new media world: does customization enhance or hinder our consumer experience? As is the case with many new media dilemmas, there appears to be no right or wrong answer. On the one hand, customization is a seemingly necessary means for advertisers to get through the clutter and cater to overwhelmed consumers who are engulfed by the endless options provided by the Internet. As Healy writes, “with perfect information about your habits, your newspaper could tailor itself to you—sports scores (but no baseball), foreign news (but no business reports),” etc., etc (482).

However, on the other hand, Healy notes that the convenience of customization may ultimately prevent consumers from seeking new information, looking for new experiences, and essentially making people “less likely to hear about or try out new things” (483). This idea of “perfectly targeted advertising” has been criticized for the potential of making people “more extreme in our views and less tolerant of other people precisely because it allows individuals to specify in advance what they want to see, hear, and read” (483).

From personal experience within this new media environment, it’s safe to say that we have all experienced both the positive and negative effects of customized consumerism, or so we think. Take amazon.com for example. Upon entering this online shopping mecca, I am warmly greeted with a banner that reads “Hello, Marli” (Exhibit A). And like an old friend who knows my tastes in books, I am immediately guided to look at things “to enjoy” (Exhibit B). And finally, by displaying the covers of books I have previously added to a wish list, Amazon reminds me that every now and then I should treat myself to a gift (Exhibit C). So even if I was initially on the website to browse for used Backstreet Boys CDs, by showing me remnants of my purchasing past, I am propelled towards the safety and convenience of Amazon’s recommendations. So as I am stopped dead in my tracks by my Amazon homepage beckoning me to read the newest novel by my favorite author, I’d have to say yes, customized consumerism makes me less likely to try out new things.

Exhbit A:


Exhibit B:


Exhibit C:




Healy, K. (2002). Digital technology and cultural goods. The Journal of Political Philosophy, 10(4).

As Cass Sunstein would argue in his “The Daily Me,” from "Republic 2.0," that the customization of media technologies has led not only to audience fragmentation, but to a general limited awareness of the media world. As users can limit themselves to the news, blogs, and points of view they prefer, they need not run into any potentially opposing viewpoints or alternative attitudes. As a result, beliefs are reinforced and divergent thoughts are stunted: “when the power to filter is unlimited, people can decide, in advance and with perfect accuracy, what they will and will not encounter.” Sunstein would argue that people should be exposed to unintended material and that common culture and shared experience are crucial for society.

Though it would be impossible not to filter culture to some extent, Sunstein laments the fragmentation that has resulted from culture customization. He argues that “there are serious dangers in a system in which individuals bypass general-interest intermediaries and restrict themselves to opinions and topics of their own choosing,” and recommend that consumers not limit their intake of media to premeditated views and subject areas. His wishes may not be answered, however, as developing technologies only make it easier to access the content we want and avoid the rest.

This article in Wired Magazine takes into consideration some of Sunstein's points, reflecting that while new media advertisers have the ability to customize ads to better target consumers, such personalization lessens the opportunity for content that may challenge our existing beliefs.

These communities are build as the consumer is met with a media message that resonates with their personal values and beliefs, allows them to feel like the message is also reaching people similar to them and helps them identify their place in society. Turow gives the analogy of a gated community; in this new media environment, advertisers are literally creating communities of similar interests and lifestyles and gated them off from one another. While this practice may make niche markets feel more secure and comfortable, it is also greatly fragmenting contemporary American culture, affecting the way consumers relate to one another in a new media environment.