The mind
game some advertisers play with you when you arrive at a website and the screen greys out, except for the box in the middle. It asks you to choose something
like getting a newsletter, mortgage quote, or weight loss program. The grey box disables you from escaping from the page. The "Escape"
key does not
work, and there is no "x" button to quit the page.
If you say "Yes," you
will be taken to whatever the advertiser wants.
But the "No" option is where you get greyboxed. It says something unpleasant, disturbing, and ridiculous. You have a sense that you don't want to
click on the "No" because it feels wrong somehow. For example, it might say "No, I don't want to eat healthier," "No, I don't want to lose weight," or "No, I don't want to save
money."
This creates a split inside of your mind. You do not want to
click on the statement because you don't believe that statement, but clicking the "No" phrase is the only way out. Clicking the "No" phrase feels kind of
like thinking it, but to answer "Yes" would be giving in to the advertiser and getting unnecessarily drawn away from what you were looking for in the first place.
