Anti-Advertising Guide

It's quite possible to block a lot of advertising from your life:

• Internet ads can be blocked by using an adblocker. For example, I use UBlock Origin, an extension which is also available for many other browsers besides Firefox.
• In addition to an adblocker, Privacy Badger is a good tool to use to block tracking links and trackers.
• In Firefox, Reader View shows some pages with just the content and without the clutter, including a lot of the ads and extras. (Despite the title at that link, Reader View is in both desktop Firefox and mobile Firefox.)
• Before signing up for a service, you might want to check out Terms of Service; Didn't Read, which summarizes what you're agreeing to by using that service, and gives services a grade in terms of how much the service is violating users' rights.
• Most telemarketers can be blocked by signing up for the Do-Not-Call list. For Canada, this is described here.
• Flyers in the mail can be mostly prevented by writing a note to Canada Post saying you don't want to receive flyers, giving your name and address on the note, and leaving it in your mailbox. Sometimes it's also enough to put a sign on your mailbox that says "No flyers please", but my mail deliverer told me to do the former.
• TV ads can be blocked by watching DVDs of shows instead of getting cable TV. (This can be much cheaper too, especially if you lend/borrow DVDs with your friends. Or, if you buy them used, watch them, and then sell them for the same price, they're effectively free.)
• Email spam can be blocked by using a spam filter, of course. I've found that it can also be prevented in the first place by getting a new email address, and then not giving that email address out in any registration forms. You can use a junk email address that you don't check for filling out forms.
• If you do have to give out your email, add a + and some word after the main part of your email address. E.g. if your email address is john.doe@gmail.com then give them john.doe+test@gmail.com. You'll still get their emails sent to your real email address, but if you get spam sent to that modified email address, you know that organization you gave your email to shared your address with spammers.
• If all else fails, remember that advertisers are powerless as long as everybody ignores them.