Technology

For those of you contemplating ways of covering up the ads:

This is the same airline that beat the shit out of that doctor because the airline overbooked the flight. For your own safety, do not cross this airline.

This should count as violation of human rights. You're chained to the seat for hours and have no other option than look at this screen or force your eyes closed. Holy shit, people should get really mad. Flashing ads on a screen you don't look at directly are still very annoying, even if you look on your phone.

I am just so, so tired of being constantly inundated with being told to CONSUME.

Can it ever just stop?

Targeted, individualized, advertising should be illegal. This will gut a lot of the motivations for the privacy invasions and data harvesting. This is how advertising worked for thousands of years. I think it could continue to be just fine.

The amount of resources humanity is spending on targeted advertising is extremely depressing when you consider the opportunity cost. There are thousands of engineers and product managers that spend all day on this stuff instead of anything useful.

So I am going to sit down and the screen will be full of penis enlargement pills? What will all the hot singles in the area think?

..that will now reflect the information United has compiled on individual travelers, like where they live and destinations they've traveled to.

I, for one, can't wait to have my personal info proudly displayed to whatever randos they seat next to me! /s

Classic late stage capitalism, where humans' sole reason for existence is being advertised to. Soon we'll start putting ads in incubators too, and invalidate this Onion article: https://www.theonion.com/17-days-in-incubator-longest-time-premature-baby-will-g-1851456014

More to consider when selecting an airline. Greedy fuckers, I hope their stock takes a nosedive thanks to this

What's the ROI on ads anyway? I feel like ads are just a way to funnel money between corps. People who are forced to see ads are really not even the point anymore. This is like corporations subsidizing other corporations. Don't even matter that you buy that item being shown to you.

“I’m sorry ma'am but could you please remove your jacket from the seat? It’s obstructing the ads and we have a very clear policy about that”

🙃

Including the opt out link in the announcement article is a good guy move on the writer's part. Thanks, Kate. You're a pal.

Remember when the assholes at United overbooked a flight and sent someone to knock a doctor's teeth out and carry him off a plane? The doctor refused since he was on his way to oversee the opening of a clinic he founded for veterans.

He and his wife started the clinic as a way to thank American servicemen and women, because he was plucked out of ocean waters by the U.S. Navy as he fled communism in his home country of Vietnam about 44 years ago, he said.

Fuck United Airlines.

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/doctor-dragged-off-united-airlines-flight-watching-viral-62250271

This just confirms my decision to never fly United again

The thing I hate is that all these airline screens usually default to "on", and people tend to leave defaults. I'm a tall person, and can usually see a large number of the screens in front of me. So if I'm on a night flight, even if I don't intend to sleep, the only way to not be blinded by dozens of ads for a few hours is to bring a sleep mask.

I already dislike the experience of being with other passengers on United. Nothing negative occurred on my part, just noticed how badly behaved other passengers were compared to every other airline I’ve flown.

My point is, I wouldn’t pick United to fly as my first choice.

Airline passengers should have confidence that their personal information is not being shared improperly with third parties [...]

So they are only shared properly with third parties? Great!

I wear a sleep mask on flights and once my IEMs go in they don’t come out until we’re about to land. In short, I don’t see or hear shit.

Can't wait to see adds for prostate exams or erectile malfunction on a plane when I get older.

So... How long before tape and blank paper are banned on planes?

And I'm sure this in no way will invade people's privacy.

"Hmm, why is the anti-queer politician sitting next to me being served dozens of male underwear ads? Hmmmm..."

"Why is my daughter receiving ads for newborn diapers? Hmmm..."

"Why is my neighbor receiving ads for anger management? Hmmm..."

Nothing a bit of paper/cardboard and a strip of tape can't fix.

Where's my duct tape and mini tool

"weird, yeah I got here and this screen just had all this sharpie over it, i dunno how it happened"