Whack-a-Troll!

Play the game sweeping the internet — Whack-a-Troll!

Tired of the increasing ubiquity of ads everywhere you look? We’ve come to expect that from newspapers, billboards, and radio and TV — but now, we get these attention hogs clogging our e-mailboxes, text message servers, and voicemails. Not to mention filling our social media feeds. Some days, it seems as if there are more ads than social media in the feed — perhaps it’s true!

Anyway, it’s especially annoying when ads masquerade as something other than an ad, be it the not-so-free “giveaways” or click-bait headlines trolling for your attention.

So, I decided to turn it into a game: Whack-a-Troll. Whenever I get fed up with the force-fed ads choking my newsfeed (happens frequently, folks!), I start using Facebook’s “Hide ad” feature.

Once the ad is hidden, I get to designate a reason why I want it hidden— from a limited range of responses. I like to vary my reasons, but rely heavily on “Irrelevant” and “Repetitive” — because ALL of their ads are repetitive and irrelevant! If it’s a liquor or gambling-related ad, I might choose “Sensitive topic.” Or if it’s health or medication-related, I often click “Knows too much.” Not that my reason for hiding it has much of anything to do with the ad content — it’s the ad, dammit! The mere presence of the ad. So, hide all from that sponsor — every time, okay?

Whack every ad you see for 5, 10, or 15 minutes and see how much fun this game delivers!

Does it work? It’s a game! It works when I feel better after playing it than I do grumbling past the crapola choking my feed. Do I see fewer ads after a few rounds of smacking them down? Maybe — who knows? I do know that I gain a sense of satisfaction after whacking several ads into temporary invisibility.

And I call that WINNING

It’s fun! it’s free! It’s easy to play — and best of all: NO ADS!