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From a Degrowth perspective, how would one argue in favour or against ad blocking and online advertising?

Degrowth is a political, economic, and social movement based on ecological economics, anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist ideas that tries to address the limits to growth dilemma (constraints of a finite planet).

Surely, online advertising fuels consumption. Yet it is also a potential source of income for anti-consumerist alternatives and blocking advertising thus closes this opportunity of income generation.

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    There's also an associated energy cost in running the ad servers and transmitting all the data.
    – Chris H
    Commented Feb 28, 2016 at 14:09
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    Not to mention a big difference between trying to convince people to buy something new, and advertising things like seed swaps and hand-tool sharpening.
    – Chris H
    Commented Feb 29, 2016 at 8:18
  • Interesting thought. I haven't thought about using ads to promote second-hand products and goods & services for self-sustained living.
    – orschiro
    Commented Feb 29, 2016 at 16:47
  • The irony is that this site is supported and offered for free thanks to online advertising (through the parent site stack overflow -- see this blog post for an explanation).
    – LShaver ♦
    Commented Apr 1, 2019 at 17:37

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If you use services which are paid for by someone else, through advertising or because they like the views that the editor is pushing, then you forfeit an element of control and knowledge about service that you are using. When using a search engine that is provided by a company that has a focus on growth you are supporting that company by adding to their profile.

However, this is not an argument against all ads. Ads which have been selected to be compatible with sustainability (e.g. as used by Ecosia) should be compatible with Degrowth.

Hence, I suggest, it is the prevalent economic model which is supported by the majority of ads which is the problem, rather than the adds themselves. Avoid, as far as possible, services from companies which have a business model which is incompatible with sustainability ... even if they are free.

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