No, the old tenet of the internet was "if you don't like something, don't subscribe to it". Usenet, Web 1.0 forums, news feeds, email lists didn't have block features; if you wanted to see something, you subscribed to it. If you didn't, unsubscribe. Even if someone on a mailing list was shit, you didn't (and couldn't) block them, you'd either filter out their messages or bail.

That's the actual problem with algorithmic feeds; they want to find ways to put things you don't subscribe to into the your view and the views of people you follow. You can't opt in to the content you see. Even if you studiously avoid algorithmic feeds, the people you follow won't, and they'll share that content onto your feed anyway. Even if you and the people you follow avoid them, nothing's stopping the algorithm from putting you into others' view and effectively inviting them into your feed.

Thus blocking/muting going from being primarily a self-moderation tool against abuse, to a necessity to stop the endless stream of algorithmic content and commentary coming from people you don't subscribe to, or who don't subscribe to you.