On 22nd of December, my interaction with social media started in the morning as I checked my Instagram feed. In the afternoon, I watched some YouTube videos, posted a story on Instagram and used Pinterest to get some inspiration as I was painting. Lastly, I used Facebook to check whether one of my friends’ birthday was actually today or tomorrow. I also used WhatsApp and Snapchat throughout the day to communicate with my friends and family.
I am paying for my ‘free’ social media access in terms of my attention and time.
The first kind of labour I have performed through my social media usage was generating value for Instagram with the picture I have posted. I performed the labor of creating the substance of social media, which is what makes these outlets attractive in the first place.
The second type of labour I have performed was related to my exposure to adverts. On Instagram, I have seen 3 sponsored content until I finished my news feed. One of these ads was for an exhibition that I have searched on the internet. The other two were for two different tattoo artists’ profile, which is related to my recent activity on Instagram. Solely being exposed to these sponsored ads is a type of labor, but in addition, I have visited some of the suggested pages. I am paying for my ‘free’ social media access in terms of my attention and time.
This example illustrates the success of personalized and niche adverts. My online activity functions as feedback generating value as a new commodity, which is called “double commodification” by Nicole Cohen. In addition, the information I have provided with my demographics is commodified as well. I performed the labour of generating data, which is sold by social media platforms to marketers.
Another interesting point about my example is that two of the ads that I encountered connected me to other social media users instead of bigger brands or companies. Both of the suggested pages of tattoo artists had only a handful of images showcasing the artist’s work and some contact information. Certainly, the artists have these public profiles in order to create a brand for their work and gain commercial revenue. But this shows that even the basic user can become an advertiser by paying a certain amount to the social media platform. This adds another layer to the audience’s shifting role in advertising. Although the audience can be rewarded for their ‘labour’ in terms of being able to advertise their own services and goods, the media industry still functions productively for capitalism by generating revenue for that ad.
Overall, I don’t think the users are adequately rewarded for the labour that they perform. Yes, I got rewarded by entertaining myself with YouTube videos, keeping up with my friends’ life updates on Instagram, communicating with my friends via WhatsApp and accessing information on my friends’ birthday on Facebook. But I was the one (or people like me) who created that content in the first place, so in a way I already paid for this service.
In addition, something is constantly tried to be sold to me with the advertisements that I face. Moreover, again, I am the one providing information about which ads would work better to sell something to me. The financial profit that bigger companies and platforms make is disproportionately more significant than the rewards that users receive. Although some creators on social media receive financial rewards, the platforms win in any case.