Driver sparks outrage with photo of 'dystopian' scene at gas station: 'Is that even safe?'

A Redditor encountered advertising in an unexpected place and needed to share it with r/LateStageCapitalism.

The photo showed a screen on the back of a gas pump handle displaying an ad while a user was fueling up.

Others were disgusted. — Photo Credit: Reddit

The ad was delivered by way of a Dutch firm called NozzleTV, which promises to "Own the pump, boost the experience, and fuel your bottom line." The system includes a speaker above the pump to deliver audio as the driver is filling up. The nozzle keeps tabs on fueling habits and maintains analytics on which ads are shown when and if they're cut off.

The ads are served in five-second segments interspersed with "entertainment," and full broadcasts last two minutes.

Advertising continues to be a major driver of unnecessary consumerism. For example, every dollar spent on Google Ads generates $2 in sales, per WebFX. This feeds two harmful behaviors.

Manufacturing the goods being advertised can require the use of polluting energy, human exploitation, and destructive resource extraction.

Watch now: How bad is a gas stove for your home's indoor air quality?

Downstream, used items are left to shed microplastics that find their way into the food we eat, which can lead to endocrine problems and infertility. Other items produce methane while in landfills, exacerbating destructive weather patterns.

It's possible to skirt the desire for buying new items by shopping secondhand and repairing things when possible. To prevent items from going to landfills, try reuse programs such as those of Trashie, GotSneakers, and ThredUp.

Online ads can be avoided with a range of tools. Adblock can keep pop-ups and resource-hogging ads out of your day-to-day browsing. Control D can provide an entire home network with ad protection. DuckDuckGo supplies ample search utilities without farming advertising data.

Redditors were disgusted with the gas pump advertising format.