DON’T you get furious when obnoxious adverts keep popping up on a website you have visited? A middle-aged colleague recently encountered one on the site of, would you believe it, The New York Times. Out of the blue, the advert started warning him about sexual inadequacies – and it did so not just with written words but very loudly over his computer’s speakers. Pop-up blockers and complaints to the site produced no result, but the noisy ads disappeared when our colleague edited his user profile. People in their 20s get a much better class of adverts.
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
Red-light therapy does have health benefits but not the ones you think
2
Man destined for Alzheimer's may have been saved by accidental therapy
3
Woman in cancer remission without treatment in highly unusual case
4
We have figured out a new way to send messages into the past
5
Tiny frozen world unexpectedly appears to have an atmosphere
6
Where has the deadly hantavirus come from and how does it spread?
7
A lost ancient script reveals how writing as we know it really began
8
Dating over 50 is probably on the rise – but we know little about it
9
Huge landslide in Alaska caused 481m-high tsunami
10
The 50-year quest to create a quantum spin liquid may finally be over



