Digital media and advertising: what people can limit, and what others must address

Alcohol advertising, gambling offers, and promotions for other products reach people through different apps and channels. A person may want fewer unwanted messages, but cannot be expected to fix the digital environment alone. Ad preferences, site blocks, or self-exclusion can form part of a personal plan; none is treatment or a promise that every offer will disappear. It helps to distinguish products, platforms, and rules in a particular place while keeping a route to support open.

For new sudden confusion, contact a local emergency medical service immediately; do not wait for it to become severe or for another sign. For suspected poisoning, make that contact immediately, even before symptoms appear. Ad settings, family conversations, and questions of responsibility come after urgent medical help.

I. Advertising is part of the environment, not an explanation for every person

WHO discusses cross-border alcohol marketing, including digital channels and young people's exposure. Another WHO publication description addresses digital marketing of tobacco and nicotine, alcohol, and several other named product categories. These are descriptions of substantial publications, not evidence that a single exposure causes addiction. Gambling needs its own evidence and rules; findings about alcohol cannot simply be transferred to it.

Platforms decide which advertising tools they offer, advertisers decide what campaigns to run, and regulators set requirements within their jurisdictions. Users can control some aspects of their own contact with ads. This shared responsibility leaves room for personal choice without attributing every problem to someone's willpower or a single phone.

II. What “see less” can actually mean

Google's My Ad Center help page describes a way to ask for fewer ads on sensitive topics, including alcohol and gambling, in the listed Google services when signed in. The help page itself says that some such ads may still appear. Whether and where the setting is available depends on the service, account, and current interface. It is not a universal filter for all substances, websites, or devices.

A practical adult step is to consult the current official help page for a service you actually use, see whether the relevant setting exists for your account, and check what data or account visibility it involves. If it is unavailable, that is not a personal failure. You can also discuss other ways to reduce exposure and obtain help with a qualified professional. Seeking help need not wait for perfect digital protection.

III. Gambling preferences and self-exclusion have boundaries

In Great Britain, the Gambling Commission requires specified licensed remote operators to offer distinct direct-marketing choices by product and channel. Its regulatory response says the requirement took effect on 1 May 2025 for that sector. This illustrates operator responsibility within Great Britain; it is not a worldwide right to the same button or proof that a particular firm always complies.

Self-exclusion described by the same British regulator may restrict access to participating licensed operators. Its actual coverage and terms need checking. It does not automatically cover every website or promise a refund of money already spent. This article gives no way to circumvent restrictions. If gambling is already causing harm, a person may combine self-exclusion with support and a discussion of financial safety. It is not a diagnostic test or a replacement for care.

IV. A young person is not responsible for protecting an adult

A family can agree on age-appropriate device rules and identify an adult a young person can approach after seeing a troubling offer. The following is an illustrative conversation, not a rule for every age or country: “If an ad or offer worries you, you can show a responsible adult. You are not responsible for someone else's substance use or spending.” This does not require public shaming, surveillance of another adult's phone, or a promise of absolute secrecy. Who may see data and what child-protection duties apply must be checked locally.

A child must not be tasked with watching a parent's substance use or bets, holding money or medicines, interpreting for services, or extracting a confession. If an adult cannot provide the child's necessary care, food, prescribed medicine, and safety now, a present, capable adult must actually take over that care. A message or an appointment is not the handover itself. If no safe adult is available or danger is immediate, use a local urgent protection route; a medical emergency does not wait for that arrangement.

V. When settings are unsafe or insufficient

With violence, threats, or financial control, account changes may be visible to someone who controls the device or money. Do not investigate at personal risk or confront them to change a filter. If safer, use a channel available to you to contact a local protection service or competent professional; immediate danger calls for local emergency protection. Deleting history, private browsing, reporting, and self-exclusion cannot be promised to stay hidden or to solve the problem at once.

Taking a prescribed medicine or developing physical adaptation to it does not itself establish a substance use disorder. The NHS explains why suddenly stopping alcohol when physically dependent can be dangerous. Do not stop prescribed treatment or attempt withdrawal at home for a digital “clean slate”; discuss the specific treatment with the prescriber. An ad or time spent on a phone is not a home diagnosis.

VI. Check one available next step

These five questions are optional. They concern what is already known, carry no score, and do not ask a child to monitor anyone:

In which service I already use do I want to see fewer ads, and what does its official help page currently promise?
Which ads or direct messages will remain outside that setting?
If gambling is involved, which licensed operators and what period would a locally available self-exclusion actually cover?
Who can see an account change or request for help, and which contact method is safe for me?
Which local professional or service is actually accepting people, given age, language, cost, waiting time, and data rules?

Choose one checkable step: verify a setting in official help, ask a local service about self-exclusion terms, or contact an accessible professional. Check whether contact actually happened and what alternative exists if an appointment is unavailable; a service name is not delivered care. For new sudden confusion, contact a local emergency medical service immediately. For suspected poisoning, do so at once, even before symptoms.

Sources and limits

WHO, cross-border alcohol marketing, 10 May 2022 — landing description of a technical report; the full report was not read, and no result of a local setting was established.
WHO, restricting digital marketing, 2 May 2024 — landing description concerning tobacco/nicotine, alcohol, and other named goods; not a gambling rule or worldwide law.
Google, My Ad Center sensitive topics — official help page with no update date established on the page read; a limited service tool, not a complete block.
Great Britain Gambling Commission, condition 5.1.12 — applies to specified licensed remote operators, not every game or country.
Gambling Commission, direct marketing response, updated 1 August 2025 — effective date and scope of the British requirement, not an outcome evaluation.
Gambling Commission, self-exclusion, updated 27 March 2026 — British description of schemes; actual coverage and terms need checking.
NHS, Alcohol use disorder, reviewed 24 April 2026 — UK medical information; neither a diagnosis from ads nor a home withdrawal plan.
NHS, Sudden confusion, reviewed 28 May 2024 — UK medical page; the emergency contact is local.
NHS, Poisoning, reviewed 12 June 2025 — UK medical page on the urgency of suspected poisoning.

About the Authors

Andrey Zarinsh — author and founder of United Wisdom. He explores inner transformation, the unity of traditions, intercultural dialogue, and contemporary spiritual discipline. Instagram: @andrey.zarinsh.

Maria Evilkut — co-author of United Wisdom. Alongside her research, she seeks to test these ideas in practice and observe how principles of unity and mutual understanding work in real life between people and cultures. Instagram: @ilkutki.

Date

15 October 2026, Bangkok.