How to Combat Brain-Hacking

As I said in my last post, the more I learn about advertising’s effect on people and culture, the more amazed I am at how deeply entrenched their grip is on my brain. Still, it’s no cause for despair, only a call to action: time to take back your brain! Here are several things I’ve done that have helped me.

Notice advertisements. Awareness is the first step in breaking free of the brain-hacking. My parents taught me to do this at a young age, and it’s been helpful throughout my life: I’m always asking, “How is this advertisement trying to manipulate me? What are they saying their product will bring?” From identifying the marketing angle in a commercial to understanding the way items are arranged on a grocery shelf to encourage you to buy name-brand, you’ll be able to respond more like an autonomous human being and less like a 1970’s mind-controlled android if you take time to notice what’s going on.

Intentionally seek out voices that run counter-culturally. You’ll find plenty of “5 Weird Tricks that Milennials Use to Save Money on Amazon— #4 will BLOW YOUR MIND!” on the internet, but few writers will actually suggest that we jump off the consumerist treadmill. You need to find the people willing to break the mold: they will keep you motivated and help you feel less alone. I’m often inspired by my friend Emily’s blog, and also enjoy the kick-you-in-the-pants cult website Mr. Money Mustache. The Frugalwoods are also awesome, and Becoming Minimalist has a lot of heart and substance (even though it’s clearly geared toward middle class people who think that driving a 2008 Honda is a sacrifice). Also good: Simplicity Voices, Zen Habits, and The Art of Simple. 

Get your friends on board. Advertising can affect you by proxy: if everyone else thinks that the best way to spend time together is to go to a bar and buy several $7 cocktails, that makes a negative impact on your life. I’m fortunate to be friends with with people who are frugal (either by choice or necessity), which means everyone agrees that potlucks and board games at people’s houses is the best way to hang out. However, if you run in circles where money flows more freely, you can push back against the assumptions created by advertisements without being a jerk. See the Frugalwoods blog post about this.

Limit your exposure to ads. If you still have a TV, mute those commercials and take the time to do something else. Ditto with Netflix or YouTube. Ignore the billboards and avoid clicking on Internet ads.

When you do see an ad, come up with a phrase to break yourself out of the trance. Mine is, “This ad is trying to hack my brain.” It’s a bit odd to think this every time I see an advertisement, but this silly phrase helps me remember the truth about what’s going on here. Again, awareness is everything!

When you feel discontent or insecure after reading an ad, try to get to the root cause. Are you drawn to buying this salt lamp because you feel like it would make you more of a cool hippie? (Um, totally not speaking from experience here.) Do you want to buy that shirt because it would make you feel more confident? Are you interesting in upgrading your cell phone because it would make you feel less self-conscious about the ancient model you’re carrying? When you put it to yourself this way, you can disconnect a bit and remind yourself that you don’t need anything to make you confident or less self-conscious. These things may help— and you may still choose to buy them— but don’t let the advertisers make that decision for you.

Don’t purchase anything on impulse. Clicking “Buy Now” on Amazon, grabbing a candy bar at the checkout line, picking up a cute jacket because it’s on sale even though you hadn’t really thought about buying a jacket until this moment— these are all responses to the siren song of advertising.

Don’t ask, “Do I want this?” Of course you want it! Although I could argue that deep down you don’t actually want it, it’s hard to tell apart our own desires from the advertisers’ without a lot of self reflection. My friend Emily posted a great list of questions to ask instead. Pro tip: the more you intentionally break the habit of buying stuff, the easier it gets to keep going. 

Enjoy the benefits of being in control of your own brain. More on this in my next post! 

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