Reflection: Social Media and "Premium" Services

Even though I have been part of "the scene" for a really long time, there are aspects of social media — and people's attitudes about social media — that I just can't quite get.

What's on the other side of the "pay" fence?

For example, there are an awful lot of complaints about how the social media giants just "use" people and their information to profit, while content creators get pretty much nothing in return.

That said... how come the very same people who are so busy crying foul are also often supporters of the for pay versions aforesaid social media giants are now selling for a monthly fee?

So... you're arguing that the service has no value when it's basically free to the user in exchange for releasing some of their personal information... but it does have value when you pay $10.00 a month for some jacked up features?

Color me stupid, but I just can't quite get the math to work on that one...

Maybe I'm just a "lousy consumer," but I have pretty much never paid for any kind of premium service of anything... blogs, social media, gaming, streaming services, what have you.

If I can't get by with the free version... I'm pretty much not a player.

If that makes it sound like I just don't participate in very many things, you would be right!

Which essentially brings us back to that age old question of what value means, to any given person. Which I think of as "entertainment" and "diversions" have seldom made the list of things I'm likely to fork over my hard-earned cash for.

But I probably spend more on quality food than most other people in my demographic.

So I end up reflecting on the interesting dichotomy we often seen between "societally created" demand and "internally created" demand.

Marketers probably hate me because I tend to be "one of those" generally ignores all those things we are told that we "should" care about.

Some of my friends insist that I probably would care if I could afford these particular frills of life... but the truth is that I didn't care about them even when I could afford pretty my anything.

Which leads me to believe that some of us are just wired — perhaps from nature's side — to just reach for the basics of life, and very little more. Not suggesting that's some kind of virtue, just a preference.

We live in this strange world in which everything increasingly seems to revolve around consuming things... and doing so in ever greater amounts. To be honest, I have never been able to truly relate to that world.

And that includes such things as "for pay" social media. Which is OK. I"m sure people I know who do pay for such thing will have no hesitation in telling me what I am "missing out on!"

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great remainder of your week!

Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation! I do my best to answer comments, even if it sometimes takes a few days!

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Created at 2024-02-15 23:08 PST
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