By Jordan O’Garro, Anais Sanchez Luis, Kayla Coye, & Pravin Ko
The conversation we had with Professor Meeds regarding his study highlights significant shifts in the dynamics of online advertising since 2007, driven by the rise of social media, personalized advertising algorithms, and the popularization of mobile internet browsing. Contextual advertising, which was not popular in 2007, has become the norm, powered by cookies and personalized algorithms that tailor ads to individual interests and behaviors. While this has raised privacy concerns, it also means that ads are more likely to be relevant and engaging to users. Professor Meeds explained how the use of mobile devices in accessing online content has transformed the advertising landscape. With more users viewing ads on mobile devices, advertisers have had to adapt their strategies to suit smaller screens and shorter attention spans. This shift requires more concise and visually appealing ad formats to capture users’ attention effectively. For the psychological perspective, there may not be significant differences in how individuals process online ads compared to 2007, the context in which they encounter these ads has evolved. Users are now used to receiving personalized content tailored to their interests and behaviors, which may influence their expectations and responses to advertisements. Overall, the relationship between social media, personalized advertising algorithms, and mobile internet browsing has altered the way online ads are created, delivered, and consumed. Advertisers will continue to refine their strategies to adapt to these changes, understanding the psychological factors influencing users’ responses to ads remains important for effective advertising campaigns in the digital age.
Conducting the interview with professor Meeds gave us more insight on the perspectives around the transitions of information processing of advertisement. There has been a remarkable difference between the dynamic of advertisements from 2007 to 2024. The study he conducted with Li C has shown that out of the three examinations exposure conditions, psychological reactance, and advertising frequency, psychological reactance exposure restricted an individual’s freedom to control invasive ads. It has been tremendously affected within all age groups due to the advancement of technology. Many users including older groups have now generated a sense of internet use which allowed them to encounter psychological reactance. Thus, likely increasing a poor reaction to the ads. The reaction to ads can affect internet users by age. Meeds argues that individuals who are more psychologically reactant might get more pronounced with age. During the time the study was conducted, older users found being interrupted by advertisements had driven negative responses. However, individuals of all age groups have differences in which they would perceive ads. One critical influence of these advertisement placements can lead to a more positive response. For example, in the study more conditions of exposures appearing in favorably areas can lead to better responses. The first examination, exposure conditions would lead more to positive responses. The study indicated that ads presented in the interest of the individual showed that they were less evasive and favored by the individual and likely getting exposure to the ads. With evolution of technology the dynamic of information processing has shifted towards all age groups in adapting to draw in users that’s not as evasive.
Interviewing Professor Meeds regarding his research revealed insightful perspectives on how online advertising has evolved. Specifically, the increasing concerns over privacy and data security. He highlighted the growing array of options available to regulate exposure to ads, such as adjusting settings and utilizing ad blockers. Using this method has led to significant drop in ad visibility. He noted that people who are more likely to experience psychological reactance could find advertisements extremely bothersome or intrusive, especially if they are exposed to them frequently. This observation implies that when individual worries about privacy grow, they might take more aggressive measures to protect themselves from unsolicited advertising, which could have an effect on how effective online advertisements are. Another crucial point of this shift was lack of ads regulations. Since the study was carried out during a time when effective control was lacking, Professor Meeds emphasized the necessity of strong regulation in the field of online advertising. This lack may have contributed to a sense of annoyance among consumers. Furthermore, he highlighted the importance of balancing advertising strategies with consumer preferences and privacy concerns. Overall, integrating both of the factors can result in an effective online ad.
Meeds highlights in this interview the slow re-TV-ification of streaming services and how ads appear on some streaming services, even if it’s a service you pay for. However, since people have come to expect little to no ads to pop up on their streaming services, it can have a negative effect on the population’s psychological reactance. In the past, ad breaks were common and many would be upwards of 2 minutes which you don’t see a lot of these days. And because people had come to expect these breaks they would use the time to go grab a snack or go to the bathroom so they never missed a second of the show they were watching. The emergence of streaming services has allowed for people to now binge their media on demand and when that gets interrupted, people who are psychologically reactive may react negatively because they are in an environment where they aren’t expected to be interrupted and yet it happens. He also discussed that the future (and frankly the present) of digital media will begin to be dominated by mobile advertising. He warns that because so many ads are now running through mobile devices, more and more research on information processing through the mobile advertising experience must be conducted. He also suggests that there is new research coming out that people’s attention spans have generally gotten shorter since the original study was conducted so that tendency to get sidetracked must also be taken into account if research was to be conducted in today’s landscape.
In conclusion, this interview helped our group understand the psychological reasoning and background for the shift in what is considered normal media and advertising consumption activity. As we see a rise in what some may call “screenagers” or those who are too attached to digital devices and are unwilling for that connection to be interrupted, Meeds’ research should be used as a warning that the phenomenon of psychological reactance could easily be shifting through to the younger generation.
The Society for Communications Research 