Introduction
The development of the Internet space leads to the emergence of many ethical issues. For example, how moral it is to use ad blockers, considering the fact that online advertising is necessary to pay for content that users get for free.
Discussion
Since many sites cannot stop showing ads, and thousands of users neither need nor like watching them, an ethical ad blocker was developed in 2015. It solves the problem by completely blocking access to every website that shows sponsored posts or videos (PBS Idea Channel, 2016). The extension’s creator says that “this way, the user doesn’t experience ads, but they also don’t leech free content” (Meyer, 2015, para. 5). While this solution is not convenient, it is quite ethical and fair in relation to both users and content providers.
Further, when discussing the importance of algorithmic advertising technologies, one needs to notice that they help advertisers make sponsored content more targeted and individualized. Since the standardization of “the rhythms of consumer demand” is relatively effective on the Internet, advertisers now rely on the updated approach (PBS Idea Channel, 2016, 00:05:13-00:05:16). They analyze the received data about individual users and their search patterns, and then persons with similar interests see the same sets of advertisements (Kant, 2021). In this case, the ads are more likely to be effective.
Conclusion
Eventually, I believe that using ad blockers is necessary nowadays because most online ads are so irritating that they prevent users from accessing a website’s content. As long as sponsored posts and videos continue popping up on the entire page, making it impossible to close them, ad blockers will be needed. However, I think that ad blocking can be turned off for sites where ads are unobtrusive or relevant, and such an approach will be ethical and mutually beneficial.
References
Kant, T. (2021). Identity, advertising, and algorithmic targeting: Or how (not) to target your “ideal user.”MIT Case Studies in Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing. Web.
Meyer, R. (2015). The ethical ad blocker magically solves all ethical ad-blocking problems. The Atlantic. Web.
PBS Idea Channel. (2016). To AdBlock, or not to Adblock… | Idea Channel | PBS Digital Studios [Video]. YouTube. Web.