The $40 you pay every month for data isn’t the cost of a free and open internet; that’s just what it takes to beam the information to you. Netflix costs $8 a month. If every website charged that much for a subscription, your social media alone would cost a hundred dollars. Fortunately for us, advertising is the ingredient that keeps everything free. Without ads every big website would have to resort to paid subscriptions or fees just to keep their servers running. YouTube has already started experimenting with this through YouTube Red – a paid service which you have to subscribe to in order to access certain channels. The New York Times and other news sources have started to force online subscriptions as well. But this is not just about the big players in the media world.

There are a lot of people that make cartoons or YouTube videos simply because they like to do it, but for many people money also plays a role. When you have your ad block on 24/7, it’s not just YouTube or the Pandora that take a hit. The artists and other content creators get paid for how many people bother to watch ads. With ad block that’s becoming less and less. It’s not as if ads are paying the rent for most of these people, but for many it’s a nice buffer that allows them to pursue their hobbies and keep the content coming.

Web advertising is the backbone of a free internet, allowing websites and online services to offer content without having to rely on subscriptions or other payment methods. Let’s keep it free. The internet is by far one of the most open, independent and convenient tools ever created, and for many it’s the first place they go to share their opinions or creations. More importantly, it’s the easiest way for people to learn. Really for the first time in history, every bit of knowledge, current and historical, is at the tips of your fingers. If big websites have to start putting up paywalls then knowledge becomes a commodity again.

I’m not suggesting you turn off your ad block completely. There are legitimate reasons to use it. Ads can carry viruses or malware and even pass themselves off as actual site content (i.e. clickbait). To make that worse, many websites can’t be bothered to filter out that malicious junk. There are also privacy concerns. Many websites collect your information, from purchasing habits to location, for the express purpose of tailoring these ads to you. Using ad block is an appropriate way to protest those practices. But once you’ve gotten acquainted with a site and know it’s safe and something you appreciate, turn it off.

Ads are trash. They’re cliché, poorly executed, and for some reason they think I’m a retiree in need of Viagra. But I care much more about a free and open internet than I do about these minor annoyances. While it may be more convenient to skip an ad now, having a ‘leave none standing’ approach with ad block is bound to lead to a more restricted internet.