Spying on people is despicable, so why have we let social networks get away with it for so long?
It’s worth spending a few moments to consider how social networks began, and then what they’ve evolved into. Originally, they were simply a way for people to transfer friendships, family ties, colleagues and acquaintances to the internet, and in this way, overcome the physical barriers imposed by geography.
But while some people used them to reestablished contact with those they may not have seen for many years, or simply maintained and deepened relationships, others began to use social networks to make new friends or to follow people who interested them –often celebrities or well-known figures.
Things really began to change, however, when the creators of social networks realized it made more sense to focus on content. The social network model was now well-established and understood: get users’ attention and monetize it through advertising. Encouraging people to keep in touch or to make new friends became the excuse, the means to achieve the central goal.
Moving on from the traditional advertising model we have grown used to on television, radio or in newspapers, we then moved on to the sniper model: if a social network has hundreds of millions of people providing it with explicit information all the time that we freely hand over…
