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Would you say that you are a product, when you watch a trailer for a movie? According to your definition, the end goal of a trailer also is to "sell" the user t
by kruczek 8y ago
Would you say that you are a product, when you watch a trailer for a movie? According to your definition, the end goal of a trailer also is to "sell" the user to the film studio in hopes that the user will buy the ticket.
People use the "you're the product" quote strictly in reference to targeted ads, not in reference to any activity which has the end goal of convincing the user to make a purchase. That means it is not about the end goal at all - it is about our data which is sold without our permission. The data is the product they sell.
- Rjevski 8y agoIf I looked up the trailer myself? No, because I already had interest in the movie and wanted to see more to decide if it's worth buying. If I didn't ask for anything and an app/website suddenly shows me the trailer? Absolutely - that app/website is selling my attention as the product, and my middle finger suddenly rises as I close the tab or tweak my ad blocker to make sure it doesn't happen again.
- kruczek 8y agoWell, then it looks like our definitions of a product differ. However, I believe this shows how the "you're the product" phrase diverts attention - now you're talking about ads in general, but that's not what people rally against. The problem is about collecting and selling our personal data without our agreement and knowledge, not about showing you some random popup. The latter, as you mentioned, can be easily blocked and won't cost you more than a few seconds of your attention, but loss of control over your data may have far more serious effects (e.g. if that data ends up in insurance companies, who suddenly decide that your data profile matches some high risk group of people).