I think it's kind of specious to claim that the reason ad blocking software is more common now is because websites started ignoring Do Not Track. Most people w

I think it's kind of specious to claim that the reason ad blocking software is more common now is because websites started ignoring Do Not Track. Most people who use the internet don't know anything about this. It probably just took a while for there to be enough 'friends good with computers' who knew about ad blocking and installed the plugins for their family and friends. That kind of knowledge takes a bit to penetrate. Once people see it works they keep using it because a web without ads is objectively better for the individual user (ignoring what might happen if ad revenue was no longer viable to fund the free services everyone uses).