The limitations imposed on Australian TV and radio do not apply to digital media, and campaigners are taking full advantage

The media blackout came into effect at midnight on Wednesday, and if the internet didn't exist then we'd all be blissfully enjoying a few quiet moments of reflection on which party (if any) is worth voting for.

But, sadly, as much as there are lots of moustaches about these days, this isn't the early 1980s. In fact, you're reading this article on the very platform that is bringing the whole idea of a blackout unstuck.

As it happens, while Schedule 2 of the Broadcasting Services Act specifies that "electronic media is subject to a 'blackout'" in the last three days before an election, it also fails to recognise the internet as an electronic medium specifically.

It refers to electronic media as "television and radio". I suppose this has something to do with the fact that it was penned in 1992, which was actually about five years before newspapers even existed online in this country.

So, in its wake it leaves quite a large grey area. An area that, right now, seems to be being wedged full of as many election-related messages as humanly possible.

Roy Morgan's latest Single Source survey suggests that 11.1 million Australians of legal voting age access the internet daily. So, let's think of that as 11.1 million Australians who will be bombarded with ads of some sort online today.

This morning, major news and entertainment portals have already been smacking voters in the eyeballs with giant digital overlays containing everything from optimistic plans for the future to the usual dodgy mud-slinging.

YouTube is still running pre-rolls (those annoying TV ads that aren't on TV, right at the head of any video you actually want to watch. One second, two seconds, three seconds … ah, there it is, the "skip" button.) Facebook is pretty much a constant stream of sponsored posts (read: paid-for posts) from all the usual suspects. The major parties are knee deep in social media as voters (and non-voters alike) continue to share the best and worst of their recent ads/posts/appearances/selfies.

It's a cacophony of the lowest common denominator shouted at deafening volume. As it currently stands, the only useful post I've encountered today was the Australian Electoral Commission's sponsored Facebook post of "Don't forget to vote tomorrow", which seemed slightly useless given the ineffectiveness of the blackout. You'd have to live under a rock to miss it.

But, it's a difficult one. If the wording changed to reflect any paid-for media in a blackout, then the world of outdoor media and posters would be hard to time, let alone to police. But the digital landscape certainly seems to be the current anomaly. Actually, scratch that, it's more like a giant black hole through which some really sub-standard communication is being forced at extremely high volumes.

So, does it achieve its aim? Time will tell. I'd expect things to heat up this evening as last-minute attempts to celebrate or discredit parties and politicians kick into overtime in the social sphere. Things will get worse before they get better when it comes to quality of messaging and creativity.

On the upside, I'd expect it should all calm right down by Sunday and we can start making sense of the results.