I'm in this field too-conversion optimisation, A/B testing, all of it-so I get the business logic. But using these apps as a normal human being? It's soul-crushing. Pinterest is the worst: the ad-to-pin ratio feels closer to 4:1 now. And you can't even complain because that's exactly what they planned for. The whole internet got worse when every platform started optimising for advertisers instead of users. Growth slows, they crank up the ads, manipulate the feed, and actual human interaction dies. Someone mentioned 4chan and Discord as alternatives, but they killed the chat discussion vibe too. I'm honestly considering building my own app just to have one digital space that isn't completely ruined by ad revenue targets. Something's got to give.
