The only reason I see why people would complain about adblockers is rather destructive: because I have to suffer (seeing ads), everybody else should have to suffer, too. Other than that, I really don't understand - does the advertiser get his value if I see the ad even though I hate it?
Seems to me rather the opposite: since I hate ads enough to bother installing an ad blocker, seeing an ad might actually induce negative feelings towards that company in me (perhaps psychology can prove me wrong, but my feeling is that ads can affect me in a negative way). Also, since I sure as hell will never click on those ads, showing them to me anyway will bring the clickthrough rate of the site down. So it might also be a net loss for the site owner, who has to sell the ads for less.
Looking at an ad is not the same as paying for something. It is not a productive action. By giving somebody money, something productive has taken place (I produced something to earn that money, receiver can pay somebody else to produce something). Looking at an ad on the other hand is purely destructive - my time was simply wasted, I did not produce anything in the time I wasted with the ad.
Looking at an ad is not the same as paying for something. It is not a productive action.
The market doesn't perfectly distinguish this. If someone if willing to pay for your looking at an ad, then it is productive according to the market. Hence, someone is paid. Does this reflect reality? Nothing is perfect, even markets.
Seems to me rather the opposite: since I hate ads enough to bother installing an ad blocker, seeing an ad might actually induce negative feelings towards that company in me (perhaps psychology can prove me wrong, but my feeling is that ads can affect me in a negative way). Also, since I sure as hell will never click on those ads, showing them to me anyway will bring the clickthrough rate of the site down. So it might also be a net loss for the site owner, who has to sell the ads for less.
Looking at an ad is not the same as paying for something. It is not a productive action. By giving somebody money, something productive has taken place (I produced something to earn that money, receiver can pay somebody else to produce something). Looking at an ad on the other hand is purely destructive - my time was simply wasted, I did not produce anything in the time I wasted with the ad.