How Nothing is Free?
We can observe Instagram, Facebook (Meta), and other free platforms displaying more and more advertisements as the engagement grows and the apps get updated. These days the advertisements appear about what you might have spoken to your friends or family members. Ever wondered if your conversations are getting recorded? even when the phone is not active. Well, I do not have an answer for that but I would recommend you to be vigilant if there is something of that kind happening to you.
I actually opened my eyes to all this when I watched the movie “The Social Dilemma”. The movie dives deep into things that go on behind the scenes when you are on social media. I started to question other things that come for free in life and realized that there is mostly nothing that anyone gets for free in life.
If you are not paying for it, you are not the customer, you are the product being sold.
Andrew Lewis
Ever thought, can you get an automobile for free?
Yes, it is possible in many ways but in any of the cases, you will be the product.
1. It can be done by giving the cars to influencers for free so that they could advertise them when they are using them,
2. You are offered the car for free and the company gathers data on your driving patterns, energy consumption, etc to finally improve and gain from your inputs in self-driving technology or any other development that they can do. It is the gradual slight, subtle change in your own behavior and perception that is the product here and in the context of social media.
Another example could be a freemium model developed for any product. The aim is to get the review from people and make people habituated to the product. It also aims at persuading customers to upgrade to the paid version by giving a glimpse into it. (Amazon Prime, Zomato Gold, Tinder Gold, etc)
Social media demands a lot of things for offering their services and there is rarely a choice left for the USERS. They do not call people their customers because their customers are the companies that force advertisements on you with the help of these platforms. There is the time and effort that you spend which makes it costlier than many other things.
What are your views on the concept of getting things for free?
Do let me know if you find things that are truly free and also those that are not free and you have observed them with the cost you were paying.
Thank you for reading. Consider clapping for the article out of 50 if you liked it.
Until next time, share this blog with your friends, family, and well-wishers.
Suggestions are welcome.
To read other articles written by me, Click Here.
Peace.
