Today, advertising has increasingly been used as a tool to boost revenues by many companies. While this admittedly has certain benefits, I would argue that the drawbacks are far more significant.
On the other hand, advertising may disrupt user experience. Advertising, such as banners or pop-ups, is easy to understand. However, advertising appears in free social media because it helps investors maintain a service platform and serve users. On the contrary, users can pay and use the platform without ads. This means that it is a drawback, but not a significant one.
Another reason to consider is the potential risk of invasion of privacy. When users use social media, there is a high possibility of information being stolen, and businesses will research that information for advertising. For example, you search for an item on Shopee, and when you return to the home page, you may see items related to the product you just searched for. On the contrary, ads provide useful information about products that users need, saving them time and effort.
Advertising can be beneficial to a certain extent. It can create employment and provide livelihoods. Many unemployed people may find jobs through ads, creating an income source for themselves. Moreover, ads can boost a country’s economy and may increase its popularity with foreigners, thereby attracting tourists.
To summarize, despite certain drawbacks that advertising may bring about, namely disrupting user experience or the potential risk of invasion of privacy, I would contend that the advantages associated with ads are far more pronounced.