Is advertising getting worse on websites?

2026-04-22 12:14 UTC

I usually use AdNauseam in the ‘active’ mode, which blocks ads in addition to clicking on them. Recently, I’ve been having to switch to the ‘strict’ mode more often, which is more aggressive in blocking, but we lose out on the clicking. I’m guessing this has something to do with maintaining profits while the price of oil skyrockets. Is it just me being paranoid, or are others noticing this as well? It’s a damn shame websites have to lose out on more ad revenue by being greedy pieces of shit, but they reap what they sow.

Replies (4)

@IWW4@lemmy.zip 2026-04-22 14:41

Yes

Open ##1528797
@belated_frog_pants@beehaw.org 2026-04-22 16:41

I dont surf the net without adblock, sponsor block, and pihole. Its garbage out there

Open ##1529953
@Dyskolos@lemmy.zip 2026-04-22 16:43

I wouldn’t know. Couldn’t remember seeing an ad in the last decades (online that is) 😁

Open ##1530000
@monovergent@lemmy.ml 2026-04-22 16:54

Haven’t noticed anything unusual as a uBlock + Librewolf user, but I wouldn’t be surprised. What exactly happens when you don’t use strict mode? Are some ads still getting through? It’s all a vicious cycle fuelled by greed I’d say. I probably wouldn’t be using a full-fledged ad-blocker if the web were still simple HTML pages with a couple narrow columns of static (maybe GIF at the top and bottom banners) ads on either side. A pop-up blocker would suffice. But pages got heavier, more bandwidth was needed, more profit was desired, more visitors blocked ads outright, and so on. The other day I was playing around in Chromium without ublock and happened upon a pcworld . com link. The site was so bloated and putrefied that my computer came to a crawl in a matter of seconds. I don’t understand how anyone is supposed to go through their site without an adblocker.

Open ##1530251