In case I didn't make it clear, providing data about yourself and making yourself more "vulnerable" to advertisers is the currency you pay with for using the platform.

As far as I care, letting random people know random facts about me so that they're more likely to peddle me stuff that I actually like is not "exploitation", but that's merely an opinion.

> In case I didn't make it clear, providing data about yourself and making yourself more "vulnerable" to advertisers is the currency you pay with for using the platform.

No, not really. No one uses a platform like TikTok because they are eager to share their personal data to marketers, and most are entirely oblivious even to which personal data is the service gathering on them.

Just because a platform or service or system is free to access that does not mean that we are allowing mysterious third parties to spy on us.

You have almost no control over what information you're giving them though. It's more like having to pay the mob for "protection" and then turning to me and saying, "What? That's the price for safety in this neighborhood. I'm choosing to pay."

The problem with data collection is not what they companies doing it use it for at the moment. The problem is making so many details of your personal life discoverable by someone simply buying some data and cross referencing databases.

When you lose privacy willingly saying "but I have nothing to hide" you also lose the ability to hide from bad actors.

The way you phrase that it sounds like these social media companies black mail you with dirty secrets they learn about you. I understand why people don't want to be packaged and sold, but a realistic view is that you're getting a service subsidized by all of this.

> The way you phrase that it sounds like these social media companies black mail you with dirty secrets they learn about you.

You may come up with the hyperboles you wish, but the truth of the matter is that a) these companies spy on their user base, b) they don't divulge or inform you about how they spy on you, c) they obviously do not defend you or have your best interests in mind, d) they don't even clarify what they do or intend to do with the data they gather on you nor ask for your informed consent about anything.

I don't care if Google convinces some company to pay them while Google provides a service to me without paying. Of course they're going to try and monetize it anyway they can. I don't think Walmart has my best interests either, so there is nothing special about social media companies. Nor do social media companies have a monopoly on "spying" on their users.

I recall reading a case study over a decade ago about how a dad learned his daughter was pregnant because Target was sending her ads to register for a baby because she was buying things people buy early in their pregnancy like pre-natal vitamins.

Estimates are that Facebook makes $30 per user per year. Personally, I would gladly pay $30 per year for the same service if it kept my data secure.