It's not egalitarian. People who are tech savvy enough to use ad blockers are subsidised by the less technology literate. Those people are also the ones most likely to fall for the malware adverts which make up a huge proportion of online ads. Just about every software download site is full of ads with fake download buttons. Google searches for software often return ads leading to malware as the top result. That's all very lucrative for the scammers and ad networks and sites, but it's not egalitarian. It's a tax on ignorance and inexperience.
A lot of the people enjoying 'free content' on the internet are doing so only because that content was indirectly paid for by a 70 year old with a computer full of malware.
These are valid concerns but it's conflating the issues between advertising structure and the reality of the implementation as discussed.
The advertising model is egalitarian. Everyone, regardless of who they are, can see the same content as it's indirectly subsidized by advertising.
However as you've described, there are certain real-life issues. Users who block ads are at fault for, well, blocking ads and not taking part in the value exchange, skewing the business economics. Ad networks that run bad scammy ads are at fault for a lack of standards. Advertisers who spread malware are at fault for being criminals who want to infect users. These are all issues we face and are similar to any other industry where the ideal mechanics are affected by bad actors.
I absolutely agree that this is mainly brought about by the lack of standards, regulation and enforcement that has led to such a consumer backlash. However I dont believe that this is the end of advertising but rather a very good opportunity to finally force the change that's been sorely overdue.
Rather indirectly paid for by a preteen or teen with a lot of malware. There's a lot more of them than elderly people with computers. I host lanparties for my sons and their classmates. The things I've seen... Parents will assume the slow computer needs an upgrade (I.e. A new computer). Resulting in an unnecessary expense that could probably be quantified.
It's not egalitarian. People who are tech savvy enough to use ad blockers are subsidised by the less technology literate. Those people are also the ones most likely to fall for the malware adverts which make up a huge proportion of online ads. Just about every software download site is full of ads with fake download buttons. Google searches for software often return ads leading to malware as the top result. That's all very lucrative for the scammers and ad networks and sites, but it's not egalitarian. It's a tax on ignorance and inexperience.
A lot of the people enjoying 'free content' on the internet are doing so only because that content was indirectly paid for by a 70 year old with a computer full of malware.