Social media is an integral part of my daily routine. Each morning, I open Instagram to explore the latest posts from fashion brands and magazines I follow. Whether scrolling through new trends, popular videos, or updates on social issues, my activities generate data that the platform collects and uses to refine its algorithm. For instance, after checking the Instagram account of Palace Skateboards today, I liked a post, only to encounter ads from brands like Supreme and Stussy minutes later. This routine highlights how my interactions not only shape the content I see but also contribute to the platform’s operation. According to Andrejevic (2014), this consumption of content is part of a broader system of “digital labour,” where users unwittingly produce data that fuels the platform’s economic model.
Beyond consuming content, actions like liking posts or following accounts actively produce data that drives the platform’s profit. When I follow a fashion brand, it gains insights into my preferences, and when I engage with ads, this data helps advertisers target me more effectively. Fuchs (2014) contends that this data extraction represents digital exploitation, where users’ unpaid contributions are crucial to platform profit. Despite my contributions, I receive no direct compensation, raising questions about this unrecognised labour.
Ads that I get even though I do not follow the account
The Platform’s Profit Model and My Role
Social media platforms rely on user-generated data to drive their profit model. Every interaction—whether following an account, liking a post, or clicking on an ad—improves targeted advertising. After searching for workout wear from Lululemon, I noticed ads from brands like Gymshark and Alo Yoga appearing on my feed. These targeted ads ensure advertisers reach potential customers effectively. Terranova (2000) describes this as “free labour,” where users unknowingly contribute to the platform’s financial gains without compensation.
While this benefits advertisers and platforms, users receive little in return. My contributions help personalise services, yet I am excluded from the economic rewards. This imbalance highlights the undervaluation of users’ labour, essential to platform success (Zuboff, 2019).
Reflection on Compensation
The time I dedicate to social media generates substantial economic value. My interactions provide the platform with data that fuels advertising revenue. However, I receive no direct financial benefit, which feels inherently unfair. Scholz (2013) highlights this exploitation, were users’ unpaid labour drives platform success without compensation.
This inequity calls for a reassessment of how platforms recognise and compensate users. Users provide indispensable value by generating data, and platforms should explore ways to reward this contribution fairly. A more balanced system could acknowledge users as active participants in the profit-making process rather than passive consumers of content. The lack of compensation for users’ data highlights the need for more ethical practices in data usage (Fuchs, 2014).
Conclusion
My daily use of Instagram allows me to engage with the latest trends and ideas, but my participation goes beyond passive consumption—it constitutes unpaid labour that drives the platform’s success. Despite the economic value of the data I provide, I am excluded from the rewards. Social media platforms should reconsider their profit models to ensure a fairer exchange, recognising users not just as consumers but as co-creators of value. Addressing this imbalance would foster a more equitable digital environment where the contributions of all participants are valued and rewarded. Only by acknowledging and compensating the labour that users contribute can platforms build a more sustainable and ethically responsible model, ensuring that the value generated is shared more equitably among all parties involved. As Zuboff (2019) suggests, fostering a more ethical and equitable digital economy will require platforms to value and compensate the data labour that users provide.
Reference
- Andrejevic, M. (2014) Exploitation in the digital age: Data, digital labour and the new economy. In: J. Fuchs, M. Boersma, A. Albrechtslund and J. Sandoval, eds. Internet and Surveillance: The Challenges of Web 2.0 and Social Media. Routledge, pp. 141-157.
- Fuchs, C. (2014) Digital labour and Karl Marx. Routledge.
- Scholz, T. (2013) Digital labor: The Internet as a playground and factory. Routledge.
- Terranova, T. (2000) Free labour: Producing culture for the digital economy. Social Text, 18(2), pp. 33-58.
- Zuboff, S. (2019) The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. PublicAffairs.