The Art of Intentional Interruption: Why We Might Actually Want Ads Back
I came across an intriguing post the other day that really got me thinking. Someone was asking about adding ads back into their Plex or Jellyfin setup - but not for the reasons you’d expect. They wanted mandatory breaks to remind their kids (and themselves) to do chores or quick exercises during binge-watching sessions.
My first reaction was probably the same as yours: “Just pause it yourself!” But the more I thought about it, the more I realised this parent was onto something quite profound about how we consume media in 2024.
Think about it - when was the last time you watched something on traditional TV with proper ad breaks? Those interruptions, annoying as they were, actually served a purpose beyond selling us stuff. They gave us natural pause points, moments to grab a drink, use the bathroom, or have a quick chat about what we’d just watched. With streaming services, we’ve gained convenience but lost those built-in breathing spaces.
The responses to this post were fascinating. Several people suggested ErsatzTV, which lets you create your own TV channels complete with ad breaks and scheduling. One user mentioned they’d set up themed channels with vintage commercials and bumpers - essentially recreating the cable TV experience but with complete control over the content. Another had built a 24/7 Lord of the Rings channel (which honestly sounds amazing for background viewing).
What struck me most was how many people understood the underlying problem. Someone pointed out that willpower isn’t an inexhaustible resource - it’s brain chemistry that can be depleted. Expecting yourself or your kids to just “self-regulate” screen time without any external structure is like asking someone to rock climb without safety gear. Sure, some people can do it, but most of us need systems in place to catch us when we inevitably slip.
Working in DevOps, I see this principle everywhere. We don’t rely on developers to remember to run tests - we build automated pipelines that force good practices. We don’t trust ourselves to remember to back up data - we create systems that do it automatically. Why should media consumption be any different?
The technical solutions people suggested were quite clever too. Home Assistant integrations that could pause Plex after a certain amount of watch time, send notifications to devices, then resume once a task was marked complete. It’s like gamifying household chores through your media system - your show doesn’t continue until you’ve ticked off that item from your to-do list.
There’s something beautifully ironic about using technology to solve a problem that technology created. We’ve built these incredibly sophisticated entertainment systems that can serve up endless content on demand, and now we’re looking for ways to deliberately interrupt that flow. It’s almost like we’re trying to engineer friction back into an experience we’ve made too frictionless.
The broader implications here fascinate me from both a parenting and societal perspective. We’re dealing with the first generation of kids who’ve grown up with true on-demand entertainment. No waiting for your favourite show to come on, no ad breaks forcing you to engage with the real world, no natural endpoints to viewing sessions. The parent asking this question recognised that completely unstructured media consumption might not be the healthiest approach, especially for developing minds.
Some of the most compelling evidence for this approach comes from places like cinemas, which still maintain those old-fashioned interruption patterns. The trailers, the interval in some international markets - these aren’t just revenue opportunities, they’re psychological breathers that help us process what we’ve consumed and prepare for what’s coming next.
I’ve been experimenting with similar concepts in my own household, though admittedly through less sophisticated means. We’ve started implementing “episode breaks” where we pause between shows to discuss what we’ve watched or check in with each other. It’s surprising how much more engaged we all become with the content when we’re not just passively consuming it in an endless stream.
The technical challenge of dynamically generating “ad” content based on live data from Home Assistant is particularly interesting. Imagine bumpers that showed the current weather, reminded you about upcoming calendar events, or displayed that day’s chore assignments. It’s like having a helpful assistant embedded in your entertainment system rather than the manipulative advertising we’ve all learned to despise.
What this really represents is a movement toward more intentional technology use. Instead of being victims of infinitely scrolling feeds and autoplay features designed to capture our attention indefinitely, we’re starting to think about how to design systems that serve our actual goals and values. The original poster wasn’t trying to eliminate screen time - they were trying to make it healthier and more balanced.
The fact that multiple people immediately understood this need and offered technical solutions tells me we’re not alone in feeling like our relationship with media consumption could use some engineering. Maybe the future isn’t about choosing between convenience and wellbeing, but about building smarter systems that give us both.
Now, I’m genuinely curious about setting up one of these ErsatzTV channels myself. A rotation of documentaries with little breaks for coffee making and stretching sounds pretty appealing. Sometimes the old ways of doing things had wisdom we didn’t fully appreciate until we’d engineered it away.