The Questionable Revolution of Ad-Blocking

The Questionable Revolution of Ad-Blocking

A 2015 Reuters Digital News Survey revealed that 47% of American readers of news websites and 39% of British readers of news websites used ad-blocking software5

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The same report revealed that almost half of internet users from the US use ad-blocking software4

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A third of these readers explained that they will avoid websites where advertising interferes with what they want to read or look at1

Image via Karolina Grabowska (Pixabay)

Generation Z and millennials make up a large portion of the millions of ad-blocking software users a month3

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Generation Z’s use of ad-blocking software and avoidance of print media is so prevalent that they could be the first generation to completely avoid “traditional advertising”1

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75% of millenials feel that advertisements are disruptive and hinder their enjoyment of what they’re trying to view3

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Younger generations feel this way about ads because of their expectation of a “seamless customer experience”1

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Generation Z and millenials desire to view the media they enjoy on their own terms, whenever they want and as promptly as they want3 Image via Pixabay

The issue that arises in this trend and what young generations of ad-block users fail to consider is the affect of ad-blocking on media companies and Internet publishers1

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Companies and publishers that make money off of digital advertising are being deprived of income with the growing trend of ad-blocking6

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Google, for example, lost 6 billion dollars in revenue due to ad-blocking8 Images via Simon

Steinberger (Pixabay)

These media companies and Internet publishers are struggling to find a way of having readers view their advertisements so they can earn a profit7

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Some publications such as the Guardian have taken to installing a message on their website that, when it detects ad-blocking, asks the viewer to look at the ads and make a “voluntary contribution”5 Image via Michael

Brunton-Spall (Flickr)

This trend known as the “ad apocalypse” is significantly damaging the relationship and exchange between the people who are creating digital content and the people who are consuming it6

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What users of ad-blocking software are failing to consider is the ways in which the decline of advertisements will affect the brands they like2 Image via Pixabay

If advertisements on a website for a given product go away, how will awareness of the product reach its target audience and how will the website thrive?8

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This “ad apocalypse” can result in people losing their jobs, less interesting content on websites, and a decline in the success of various brands3

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“Imagine running a restaurant where 40% of the people who came and ate didn't pay” – Ken Fischer, founder & Editor-in-Chief of Ars Technica3

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While companies try to understand the types of content and ads that will resonate with younger generations, these same generations need to significantly cut back on their use of ad-blocking software2

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If a person is a devoted fan of a website and wants it to succeed, ad-blocking software is a detrimental idea7

Image via Gerd Altmann (Pixabay)

Let’s not allow our desire to efficiently get to what we want to see prevent us from seeing what we really want

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Sources (1) Ad-blocking and the imapct on your brain. (2016, March 30). Retrieved October 18, 2016, from

http://www.mobas.com/core/insights/ad-blocking-and-the-impact-on-your-brand(2) Claveria, K. (2016, August 12). How to engage millennials for customer insight and marketing. Retrieved October 18, 2016,

from https://www.visioncritical.com/how-engage-millennials-customer-insight-and-marketing/(3) Fisher, K. (2010, June 03). Why Ad Blocking is devastating to the sites you love. Retrieved October 18, 2016, from

http://arstechnica.com/business/2010/03/why-ad-blocking-is-devastating-to-the-sites-you-love/(4) Krashinsky, S. (2014, January 30). Super Bowl advertising won't wait for commercial braks. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved

October 18, 2016, from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/super-bowl-advertising-wont-wait-for-commercial-breaks/article16614167/

(5) McSpadden, K. (2015, May 14). You Now Have a Shorter Attention Span Than a Goldfish. Time Magazine.(6) Mortished, C. (2015, July 03). Readers have declared war on Publsihers. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 15, 2016.(7) Paquette, A. (2015, October 13). The rise of ad blocking: How it impacts brands marketing to teens. Retrieved October 18,

2016, from https://www.visioncritical.com/ad-blocking-and-marketing-to-teens/(8) Rosenwald, M. (2015, September/October). The digital media industry needs to react to ad blockers … or else. Retrieved

October 18, 2016, from http://www.cjr.org/business_of_news/will_ad_blockers_kill_the_digital_media_industry.php