I hope people stop being naive and finally understand they are product, not the customers. If you are not paying for the services it means somebody else pays for you to get the service and that your interest is only important to Facebook as long and as much as they can still keep you posting all your lives' details and carrying their spying app on your phone. Because that's what FB really wants from you, not your happiness.
You're always the product. Even paying for a product doesn't mean they aren't gathering and selling your data. As examples, cell phone companies selling location data, tv manufacturers selling viewing data, cable/isp companies selling your browsing history, credit card companies selling your purchasing history. The list goes on. If you don't have a specific guarantee in the contract at the time you paid for a good or service that your data isn't being sold to or shared with third parties, you are the product.
> You're always the product. Even paying for a product
Really! I am astonished that people seem comfortable that their products have prominent and sometimes dominant logos of a manufacturer, so that they have paid to be walking/driving billboards for somebody else.
Plenty of iphone and ipad cases have holes to show the mirrored Apple logo -- originally intended as a selfie mirror but obsolete for that purpose once the selfie camera was introduced. (I use both devices myself but don't worry about blocking the logo).
Growing up I was always taught logos on clothing is just free advertising for companies. I try to avoid wearing things with logos and remove stickers and decals and stuff from things I buy.
I also grew up hanging out with a bunch skaters. A few of my friends got good enough companies actually sponsored them and paid them to wear their clothes or use their boards. It sort of opened my eyes to the idea of fashion itself just being marketing.
If I do wear or use something with some kind of logo, I like to make sure it's from a company or product, whose business practices I support and don't mind advertising for rather than just because I like something they make.
I agree with gumby's comment, and also wanted to add that.. I can afford the most expensive clothes you can imagine. I really can. But since I was a teenager I always disliked paying someone £€$ in order to become their walking bilboard. I equally dislike when I give my car for service, and the garage sticks 1-2-3... stickers with their logo, without asking me. If they want advertising space, they should pay for it.
My typical 'uniform' is jeans and some long-sleeve shirt, the ones you buy from Primark for £5 or £10. I have searched for similar items without logo and I can't find anyting decent. Even Patagonia sticks a logo.
They can keep their brand to themselves. If Burberry makes a long-sleeve the way I want it, without any isnignia, and the quality matches the price, I will gladly cough up the £100 to buy it, because I know it will last me 10 years. Until then, I am keeping my money - my money. :)
Depends on the item, but I chose a Patagonia rain jacket partly because their logo is a stitched on tag I could easily remove while most other brands print their logo on.
My photo has been uploaded countless times to facebook without my permission, and my data has been sold countless times through brokers that acquired this information illegally. There is nothing I can do, and Facebook will continue to behave irresponsibly with my information.
It is because of the unethical behavior of Facebook as an organization that we're in this mess - not the naive users.
>I hope people stop being naive and finally understand they are product, not the customers.
I - sincerely - wish that this were plausible but nothing indicates any preceptable hint at a change from the current modus operandi. That ship has sailed and the rest of us are caught in the undertow.
Funny thing, I was watching (again - as a refresher) the videos of Financial Peace University from a few years back that I still have on my backups, and at some point Dave Ramsey says "Evian spelled backwards is Naive". He mentioned that in a 'water comparison vs cost' example on why we need to be more considerate on the management of our £€$.
Back to our discussion..
Those evil actors (Facebook, trackers, advertisers) survive from the constant flow of our data. If we ever/once we cut off this flow permanently, then eventually they will 'starve to death'. These evil actors can't go around advertising with 10-year old data.
