Editor’s Note: It’s another post from me, Lori today.

I spent a lot of time as a kid combing the rugged coast at my aunt and uncles’ home in Robbinston, Maine. We spent hours inhaling the saltwater scent of the Passamaquoddy Bay, examining periwinkles, shells, driftwood and assorted shaped rocks.

There was one find that stood out – a bottle with a message inside!

Eek!  This was the stuff of movies and TV shows.  In those days, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys ruled my world. Wasn’t everything in life a mystery waiting to be solved?

Water seeped inside but the letter, still legible, was written by a boy around my age. His message was short and sweet: Could whoever found this bottle, please send a letter to the address included.

I could hardly wait to write my letter and mail it off. 

Sadly, I never got a reply. Too bad. I was looking forward to a new pen pal.  (Remember, my early days predated email, text or free long distance).  Communication by mail was king and it was exciting as heck to get a card or letter.

It still is.

These days the messaging doesn’t feel nearly as wholesome.

It seems like everyone wants a piece of our attention and it’s usually to sell us a product or influence us in some way.

Did you know that on average we are exposed to between 4,000 to 10,000 messages per day? That’s a big increase from the 1970’s when we typically saw 500 ads on billboards, logos on clothing and food packaging per day.

Another interesting tidbit? Our brain registers fewer than 100 of these messages.

Still, the advertisers are savvy and they know how to play to our insecurities.

Need to drop 25 pounds? Pure Green Coffee antioxidant capsules, with the help of fake news organizations, claimed to help with weight loss. Dr. Oz also endorsed this product on his TV show and later appeared in front of a Senate’s Consumer Protection panel to defend his actions.

Skechers Shape-Ups advertised that its shoes would help wearers lose weight and tone their muscles. Those claims were deceptive and Skechers settled for $50 million dollars.

Jamie Lee Curtis touted Dannon’s Activia yogurt was “scientifically proven” to help regulate digestion and boost the immune system. A judge ordered Dannon pay $45 million to settle a lawsuit based on it’s unsubstantiated claims.

Remember the Luminosity app? It promised to prevent Alzheimer’s disease or help students do better in school even though it had no proof. The company was fined $2 million by the FTC.

Since when did we become so trusting of anything or anyone that promises us the sun, moon and stars yet consistently fails to deliver?

Did you ever think about the products that offer us a suddenly perfect life? Maybe it’s the face cream that promises to reduce wrinkles by 30%. Or the cologne that will make you irresistible to the opposite sex.

Their messaging keeps us perpetually miserable, unhappy with ourselves, convinced that we need them so we keep buying their products.

I hate to be the one to bring this up but there is no quick fix to any of life’s problems. No miracle cure.

And if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

To be sure you won’t miss one word from Disentanglement.ca, sign up for our newsletter delivered to your inbox.