Advertisers claim they're just informing consumers, but ads are engineered to create needs we didn't have. With targeted ads following me across every site, I've noticed I buy things I never searched for, purely because a brand reminded me at the right moment. Isn't that manipulation rather than information? Some argue ads fund free content, which I get, but the psychological tactics—scarcity, social proof, emotional hooks—cross a line. The question is: should advertising be strictly regulated like other forms of persuasion?