I can’t think of a better description of commercial social media, where the “stuff” is a sense of belonging. I have no problem with the idea of an online social network; I just don’t want to buy a sense of community with my attention to ads, on a platform that implicitly encourages me to advertise myself, all while my data gets collected. It feels nefarious to me, like Nestlé selling us the public water supply in private bottles.[*5]
