Netflix's Black Mirror, the anthology series from Charlie Brooker, is spooky because it's so real. The show reveals our reliance on technology, showing how quickly we could slip into dystopia. We'd say more, but this tweet sums it up perfectly.
the more I watch it the more i feel like the real black mirror.. is socoety
— (wooting softly) (@dogboner) October 24, 2016
Dang, it's too true.
The show has taken its techno-paranoia theme to a semi-unexpected place: Online advertising. Specifically, targeting internet users that use ad block software. (As an aside, ad block software sucks because it removes a valuable revenue stream from your favorite free sources of online content, like Refinery29.) Netflix uses banner ads that look simple enough, but also nod to the show's central theme.
"Hello ad block user," the ad says. "You cannot see the ad. But the ad can see you. What's on the other side of your black mirror?"
Here's a screenshot captured by The Next Web.
Creepy. So how do they do that? It might be because your ad blocker is now selling its own ads! Mashable explains:
"AdBlock Plus, the web's largest such service, runs a whitelist of ads it deems acceptable and less intrusive. Heavily trafficked websites are charged a fee to be part of that list. The company even went so far as to start selling its own ads last month, further stoking tensions between ad blockers and the publishers that rely on ads for their livelihood."
Folks, looks like the real black mirror was inside of us all along. Oh, and don't use ad blockers. They suck.