Is social media really free to use?

[Trush Jodie]

Most people are on social media platforms and they don't seem to be paying a dime to use those social media platforms. Some of those social media platforms like Facebook and others have the cost of you exchanging your private data for free access to them.

Do you think that social media is truly free to use?

 

[gwolf666]

That’s a really good question, and honestly, I don’t think social media is truly free at all. Sure, we don’t pay with money, but we definitely pay with something even more valuable — our personal data and attention. Every click, like, or share is collected, analyzed, and sold to advertisers who use that information to target us with specific content or products. In a sense, we’ve become the product. I think many people underestimate how much data these platforms actually gather — from location and browsing habits to voice patterns and interests. The “free” access just makes it easier for them to get more users and, therefore, more data. Personally, I think it’s a fair trade only if users are aware of what they’re giving up. The problem is that most people aren’t. So, while we don’t pay in cash, we’re constantly paying with privacy and time, which are arguably much more valuable.

 

[Starmix]

Yes, it is free for use, but not free if you are selling something. Those who have only businesses like mine are paying some amount for displaying the products on Facebook Marketplace..

 

[eLdavis]

It depends on you, it's free to use if you want to use it for free, then there is a paid version that comes with some extra benefits.

 

[Kross]

YouTube for instance is free to use but they would show you ads for that free usage. That means it is not entirely free.

 

[eLdavis]

Yes that's it, if you want to have a YouTube experience without ads, then you probably have to pay for premium.

 

[King Belieal]

I read somewhere that social media is not really free to use. It has all manners of costs that are associated with making use of them.

 

[Bigshow]

Different kinds there is paid version of social media and the other ones are free its only depend on you which one do you opt for