Social Media — if it’s free, you are the product.
Are consumers becoming products ?
Technology has rapidly secured its position in today’s world. Be it data analysing or sorting in apparent tech-isolated occupations like law, the packaging of your favourite packed food back in their manufacturing factory, your favourite game, or your most liked device’s appeal. All hardware, all software, the ideas put into them and the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes is inherently Technology.
In today’s world of growing technology, Social Media has taken a taut grip over generations of human thought processes and it has constantly tried to create trends and manipulate how we think. Everyday algorithms get more equipped to how you think, what you like and what you feel. It’s almost as if big-tech companies are standing right behind you, looking over your shoulder, and noting down your entire personality.
Even Though Social Media is not “all evil” and does actually help people connect and relate through the internet, it could also negatively affect us in the ways we all know; cyberbullying, isolation, forced insomnia, peer pressure, privacy issues and so on to state a few. But is there something beyond the superficial cons of this media? Is there something that we’re not able to see even though it’s right in front of our eyes and happening to us in real time?
I’m sure all of us have been delighted at the sight of free service; relieved even. But how do you think these multi-millionaire companies make all their money if they don’t charge you for any of their services?
In a conversation between Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Chief Executive and Senator Orrin Hatch, he places the same question.
Senator Orrin Hatch: ‘How do you sustain a business model in which users don’t pay for your service?’
Zuckerberg: “Senator, we run ads.”
This dystopian but quite true statement makes us realise that these big-tech companies are not just in the business of providing you with a service but also of farming your data.
According to Forbes, social media sites collect so much data that “they can’t remember all the ways they surveil us.”
The types of data that these social networking companies are able to gather from you fall into three broad categories:
Personal Data: This type of data includes personally identifiable information such as phone numbers, email addresses and gender. It can also include details such as your IP address and device IDs.
Engagement/Behavioural Data: This category involves how consumers interact with a website or application. Examples include how many pages a user views, how long they stay on each page, and even eye and mouse movements.
Attitudinal Data: This category can determine the importance consumers place on a certain product or service. In the case of social media, it could be the way consumers feel about social issues or those that they follow.
A 2014 report from Business Insider Intelligence shares examples of unique pieces of data collected by popular social networking sites. For instance, Facebook and Instagram can provide a window into what people care about via their “like” button and the information they repost or reshare.
Meanwhile, the millions of product images that are pinned to personal boards on Pinterest provide insights into shoppers’ aspirations. Tweets on Twitter also provide real-time insight into the news that users around the world are consuming, and what is important to them at any given point in time.
Now the question arises, how do they know what to exactly show you and keep you interested? The algorithm on these sites is built in such a way that it recommends you the next best thing or most similar to the one you like or search about.
Have you ever searched for a pair of shoes from your favourite brand online? Before you know it, you will be swamped with Google and Facebook ads for more items from the brand.
Here comes Surveillance Capitalism.
The term was first coined by Harvard professor Shoshana Zuboff in 2014 and describes a situation whereby the commodity for sale is one’s data. The capturing and production of this data relies on mass surveillance of the Internet, often carried out by companies that provide free online services such as Facebook and Google.
These companies collect and scrutinise our online behaviours by monitoring our searches, likes, and purchases, to produce data that can be used for commercial purposes.
Big tech companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple collect and control unparalleled amounts of data, which has led to the phenomenal growth of these companies.
Google, for example, processes 40,000 search queries every second on average, which translates to over 3.5 billion searches a day.
From your emotions to political inclination, social networking sites can directly or indirectly manipulate your behaviour. In 2018, a firm called Cambridge Analytica purchased Facebook data on tens of millions of Americans without their knowledge to “Help elect Donald Trump as president.”
Many argue that we live in online “filter bubbles” that only expose us to the ideas we already agree with. This could be due to the algorithms on social media that push us to content similar to what we have liked previously. Since people do not see any opposing views, this leads them to believe their opinion must be right all the time. Whether in politics or as a whole, people need to be well informed on issues and be able to have critical discussions — this is the foundation of a progressive society.
Lastly, I’ve heard the person I love state that any Technology can develop into something purely extraordinary and beneficial if you know how to counter the effects. This statement is the reason why we need to take its mindful development in our own hands to the benefit of our society instead of manipulating it.
By — Arshiya Sharma
