As far as I understand how things like facebook or reddit work they:
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offer an unpaid service to mass consumer
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harvest data of the people who use the service
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offer paid advertisement space to companies
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companies buy advertising because the vast data promise precise targeting
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precisely targeted ads convert into sales for companies
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the ROI (profit gained to cost of ads) when buying social media ads is greater than ROI on tv or whatever other ads
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social media expand on the profits gained from ad space sold to companies
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social media corp announces a brand new feature and we return to point 1)
Which step is the closest to breaking? Where are limits of growth and who hits them first? Is there a cap on marketing budgets beyond which companies won’t afford social media ads and tech corps won’t afford expansion and maintenance? A cap on how much data (=how precise ads) can they harvest from us? A lower threshold of general wealth below which ads won’t convert into more profit because people are too poor? A breaking point of enshittification at which user count (=ad visibility) plummets?
The recent apeshit of tech companies after the raised interest rates made me feel that the entire thing is quite fragile and ripe for falling… But I’m not a financial advice so maybe I’m completely clueless.
It stops as soon as we all start calling it what it really is: stalking. If this makes it into the public consciousness, it will end the ads based internet. Europe is already on board by their policies. The English word stalking is the most simple and powerful tool possible. It is black and white politics, and there is no effective countermeasure. No politician can run on a platform of I support stalkers. It is all about the wording and how arguments are phrased. It really is that simple. It is following people around collecting information and looking for opportunities to exploit people. Two or more parties colluding to exploit a person is irrelevant to the cause and effect. This is not about showing you banner ads. This is about shaping your echo chamber and the products and prices you see. It is all about exploitation and manipulation; stalking.
We had a politician when who made statements like I could stand in the middle of 5th avenue and shoot somebody dead and no one would do anything about it.
There are a reasonable number of people out there who would follow a politician to their death who said Don’t mind those stalkers it’s fine.