I Need That!

You know what temptation is, right? Almost all of our temptations can be summarized in one simple phrase: “I need that.”  Something in our brain persuade us, first with a whisper, and then with a big, bold, capital letters shout: “I NEED THAT! NOW!”  And the world of social media has figured out how to tempt us, or at least me, in very clever, subtle and not so subtle ways.

The new number one source of temptation will soon be interest ads on computer pages.  Interest ads are the little windows which pop up on your computer and tell you what you need based on your “interests”.  Interest ads get to you because advertisers pay people who have pages you read to allow the ads to be placed there. So, for example, if you are car shopping on line you will find all sorts of interest ads pop up telling you which car dealers you “need” to visit for the best deals.  If you are looking up information about automobile accidents you will find ads from lawyers who will get you all the money you “need” to make things right.

That’s all really fair game. That is just a modern advertising strategy.  The more devious ones are those which tempt us with things we didn’t even know we needed. So, for example, I find out with great regularity the “problems” the interest ad writers assume I have as an older white male: failing and falling features and drives.  And the advertisers promise they can give me a new lease on life with one little click on the alluring ad.  As it turns out, most of my “problems” can be solved with a pill.  For some reason, I don’t believe them.  Maybe it’s because it always seems that today’s problem-solving pill becomes tomorrow’s class-action lawsuit.  I spent a lot of time following all sorts of links to turn off interest ads, but with only marginal success.  So now it has become a game in my mind: I am not going to look at the ads. I am going to just say no.

 It is no sin, they say, to be tempted.  The sin is in believing that the tempting offers of an easy path to possessions, power and prestige will give you the life you always dreamed of, and all of that is just one little click away.  Temptations are no different now than they were at the beginning of time.  The Tempter finds a weak spot in our life and says, “I can fix that problem. See, the ‘apple’ looks so good, and it’s good for you! Really.” And we finally persuade ourselves, “How bad can it be? I need that!” Oops.