:: adgruntie :: Ads blamed for poor mental health

+ Came across this interesting tidbit today. TV ads make our minds toxic. Ok. Here's the key excerpts:

here are some environmentalists who say that we should be as concerned about the clean state of our minds as we are about the polluted physical world around us. Their concern, according to an article in the Guardian, is that many of us are suffering from a "toxic mental environment". Bombarded by advertisements and marketing ploys, people’s minds are becoming "poisoned", making them prone to stress and frayed nerves.

Take for instance, an ad that repeats five times during a programme and then five days a week, several times a month. Even if it is aesthetically or cleverly done, this repetition is bound to irritate. Or take telemarketers, the scourge of our modern era, who call at the most inconvenient times to sell you something you don’t want. These daily invasions are borne stoically by some, but for many others, they are troubling and troublesome. TV ads certainly have escalated in recent times, with some programmes switching to commercials every few minutes. It often seems that there is no getting away from someone who is trying to push something on you, and this is what makes our minds toxic, say those fighting for a clean mental environment.
[snip]
Dr Shekhar Reddy, a psychiatrist feels that people today have hardly any time to relax, which is in itself stressful. "The toxic mental environment works at a multi-dimensional and multi-media level. Most people have a problem with product marketing and advertisements. This is the reason why mobile advertising has been banned. The mind is unable to cope with the pace at which it’s being fed with words, information and even reactions. This could ultimately lead to mental fatigue, wherein the mind just shuts off," he says. As many as four out of 10 people are affected by this type of bombardment, even to the point of becoming emotionally unbalanced, he adds.

Ok, so I can't argue too much about the annoyance of frequency media buys. They drive me insane as well. Maybe they're on to something. ;)