Comment by charcircuit

>They nudge people towards buying stuff they wouldn't otherwise buy.

It allows people to find things they value that they were not aware of before.

>Ads are a distraction.

Yes, which is why apps need to design good ad experiences to balance monetization with user satisfaction.

>On a fundamental level, ads work against the free market: not the best product wins, but the product with the biggest advertising budget.

If something really is the best product, why aren't they the one with the largest advertising budget?