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"We are not Facebook's customer. We are their product." I have stated that fact so many times to so many people, and yet most people don't care. They continue

by milesf 9y ago

"We are not Facebook's customer. We are their product." I have stated that fact so many times to so many people, and yet most people don't care. They continue to use Facebook. It's almost as if people are addicted to Facebook.

kakarot 9y ago
Well, they are. Addicted to immediate and frequent social validation. Telling people heroin is bad for them isn't going to make them quit if they are addicted to it. They have to witness or experience the hardships that come from such an addiction. Telling people Facebook is bad for them, telling them why it is bad for them, isn't enough. We have to show them indisputable evidence of social media having an extreme negative impact on their lives. We have to pull them away long enough for their brains to stop craving the dopamine release they associate with browsing their feeds and narcissistically posting several times a day. Most importantly, we have to care and understand what they are going through. Being angry at them or thinking they are stupid for not knowing better is alienating and divisive behavior. They will rush to Facebook to alleviate their negative emotional response to what you are telling them. Even if they think that you're right.
nix0n 9y ago
We're both the customer and the product. I'm the product to advertisers, but also to my friends. Similarly I am the customer to the products that are my friends.
- qbrass 9y ago
  The product is bait. You're keeping your friends there, they're keeping you there, and now the group of you brings in the bigger fish.
Wissmania 9y ago
This is just semantics. You get to use Facebook in exchange for having the info you share there used for advertising, and having those ads show up on the side of the page. Who cares what you call it.
flycaliguy 9y ago
It gets more complicated when you consider the concept of "social currency" and the utility of one's profile in matters such as... gettin' laid for example. I view Facebook on one level from your perspective. They sell to an advertiser eyeballs of potential customers. It's user performs the immaterial labour required to create content which drives eyeballs to the site and sort the customers into demographic groups. But there really is a much more complicated Web of transactions taking place on Facebook. Exchanges which can convert the labour performed on a user's part into a social profit.

by milesf 9y ago

kakarot 9y ago

Well, they are. Addicted to immediate and frequent social validation. Telling people heroin is bad for them isn't going to make them quit if they are addicted to it. They have to witness or experience the hardships that come from such an addiction. Telling people Facebook is bad for them, telling them why it is bad for them, isn't enough. We have to show them indisputable evidence of social media having an extreme negative impact on their lives. We have to pull them away long enough for their brains to stop craving the dopamine release they associate with browsing their feeds and narcissistically posting several times a day. Most importantly, we have to care and understand what they are going through. Being angry at them or thinking they are stupid for not knowing better is alienating and divisive behavior. They will rush to Facebook to alleviate their negative emotional response to what you are telling them. Even if they think that you're right.

nix0n 9y ago

We're both the customer and the product. I'm the product to advertisers, but also to my friends. Similarly I am the customer to the products that are my friends.

qbrass 9y ago
The product is bait. You're keeping your friends there, they're keeping you there, and now the group of you brings in the bigger fish.

Wissmania 9y ago

This is just semantics. You get to use Facebook in exchange for having the info you share there used for advertising, and having those ads show up on the side of the page. Who cares what you call it.

flycaliguy 9y ago

It gets more complicated when you consider the concept of "social currency" and the utility of one's profile in matters such as... gettin' laid for example. I view Facebook on one level from your perspective. They sell to an advertiser eyeballs of potential customers. It's user performs the immaterial labour required to create content which drives eyeballs to the site and sort the customers into demographic groups. But there really is a much more complicated Web of transactions taking place on Facebook. Exchanges which can convert the labour performed on a user's part into a social profit.