When it comes to business, the adage "follow the money" cuts through a lot of noise and gets to the heart of the matter.

The Product

"If you're not paying for the product, you are the product" - Various Sources

This quote perfectly sums up many aspects of the internet and the social media explosion of the 2000s. 

Google allows us to search for free, while selling the information we search on to marketers. Facebook allows us to create profiles for free, while business buy targeted ads on the platform. 

A company's business model revels a lot about the company. I'm not trying to assign moral value to this model. (There's only one model, for me, that rises to that level, but thats for another day.) 

But recently big names like X (Formally Twitter) and Meta (Facebook, Instagram) have started flirting with a more traditional subscription model. The shift is happening for various reasons. Some include legal ones originating from the EU.

It's too early to tell what impact the move will be for the companies. But it is telling how reluctant companies were going down this path. 

The Impact

For platforms, this does change a lot. Enabling people to effectively opt out of advertising decreases the value of one of their largest revenue streams. This doesn't mean that they will go out of business, but we are already seeing changes in their investment and strategies.

X introduced their new creator fund and Instagram rolled out Threads and made recent changes to their algorithm to prepare for the new revenue strategies. TikTok rolled out their shop Ads recently with a lot of backlash with users complaining that it’s too much.

For current users, we're closer to being customers and not users. "Users" and "Customers" are normal descriptions when we talk about people in the tech industry. But it is interesting how we ended up with the term "Users" to describe people who use software. 

In a dark view, it's a similar word choice we use for people who "use" drugs and other addictive substances. The harmless view is that people "use" technology, so the plural would naturally be users. 

Whatever side you relate to, you can expect in 2024 a change of tone in social media. It's too early to tell how the change will play out, but it is coming and will affect content creators, businesses, and customers in some way, shape, and form.

Why It Matters?

Ok, so why is this a topic on Cyber Wellness? Ads have been around way before computers, it's a part of western society and we've just learned how to deal with it. Right? 

Well look at it this way. Decreasing the amount of ads you consume minimizes the decisions on platform you have to deal with consciously and unconsciously. 

Before, you had little choice to avoid ads on many platforms, forcing you to analyze messages from your friends, businesses, influencers, and anyone vying for your attention. 

Remove ads, and it's now just your friends and influencers. Does that make for a better experience on platform? I think many people are about to find out. 

This Week’s Challenge

For those who can afford it, I would suggest to go ad free for a month on a platform you regularly use that allows it. Use that month to assess how you react to less ads in your life. 

However, that is not a viable path for everyone, so I recommend this. A video on YouTube called "How Money Works" recently released a video about the advertising industry. Its definitly worth checking out. 

Learning how things like this works goes a long way to create healthy habits that works for you and your loved ones.