Imagine you walk into a supermarket. You fill your cart with steak, wine, and fresh vegetables. You walk to the register, and the cashier smiles and says:
“It’s free. Take it all. See you tomorrow!”
You would be suspicious. You would wonder, “What is the catch? How do they make money?”
Yet, this is exactly what we do every day online.
We use Google for free. We use Facebook for free. We use Twitter for free.
We think we are the customers of these companies. But we aren’t.
Advertisers are the customers.
We are the livestock.
The Attention Economy
There is a famous saying in Silicon Valley:
“If you are not paying for the product, you are the product.”
These companies are not charities. They are the most profitable businesses in the history of the world. How?
They are mining a resource. That resource is not oil or gold. It is your attention.
Every second you stare at a screen, they collect data.
- They know what you click.
- They know how long you hover over a picture of your ex.
- They know what you buy.
- They know where you sleep.
They package this data into a precise profile of your psychology and sell access to your eyeballs to the highest bidder.
It Goes Deeper: Behavioral Modification
It isn’t just about showing you ads for shoes. It’s about changing your behavior.
Jaron Lanier, the father of Virtual Reality, argues that “The Product” isn’t just your data. The product is the gradual, slight, imperceptible change in your behavior and perception.
- They show you content that makes you angry so you stay on the app longer.
- They show you perfectly curated lives so you feel insecure and buy beauty products.
- They manipulate your dopamine so you can’t put the phone down.
They are not just watching you; they are programming you. And they are doing it to make a profit.
The “User”
There are only two industries that call their customers “users”:
- Illegal Drugs.
- Software.
This isn’t a coincidence. The business model relies on addiction. If you aren’t addicted, you aren’t profitable.
How to Opt Out
You can’t completely escape the modern world, but you can stop being an “easy target.”
1. Pay for Privacy
Whenever possible, use paid services instead of free ones.
- Use a paid email provider (like ProtonMail) instead of Gmail.
- Use a private search engine (like DuckDuckGo) instead of Google.
- When you pay with money, you don’t have to pay with your soul.
2. Poison the Well
Confuse the algorithm. Don’t give them a clear picture.
- Use a VPN.
- Use ad-blockers.
- Turn off “Personalized Ads” in your settings.
3. Be Conscious
The most powerful defense is awareness. When you open Instagram, remind yourself: “I am entering a marketplace where my attention is being sold.”
This simple thought breaks the spell. It stops the mindless scrolling.
The Verdict
Your attention is finite. It is the only thing you truly own.
Don’t give it away to a corporation that hates you for free.
Stop being the product. Start being the owner.
The Challenge:
Go to Google > My Activity (or Facebook > Settings > Ad Preferences).
Look at the list of “Interests” they have tagged you with.
It is terrifyingly accurate. They know you like “Fitness,” “Marvel Movies,” and “Mexican Food.”
Delete the history. Clear the cache.
Make them work for it.