Ads make sense for social media, because the value is in the network, and putting a paywall would limit user access -> fewer members in the network. Ultimately

Ads make sense for social media, because the value is in the network, and putting a paywall would limit user access -> fewer members in the network. Ultimately the problem with social media is no one wants to talk to everyone they've ever met or know of them all the time except for public figures, and then they want to share only watered down PR messages. I guess also people desperately convinced of some political point they want to convince others of. The early days were naive and fun because everyone was oversharing and we were taking on larger risks in terms of public perception in search of fun connections but we wised up, and now only young kids on tiktok still have that naivety.