alt Hacker NewsI agree that advertising is the root of it, but some people might still pay for modern social media. They used to pay for porn, before it was available for "free" (ad supported). Some still do. I pay for YouTube to avoid the ads. I don't think I would pay for Facebook or Tiktok though. Possibly an uninformed opinion as I've never used those platforms.
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intended • yesterday at 6:07 AM
The $ from people paying for subscriptions and the $$$$$$ from ad revenue, is too much of a bridge to cross.
Paid media is better. If you pay for a monthly subscription or for individual pieces of media, revenue is no longer tied to “engagement.” If you pay for Netflix and watch three hours a month or thirty, it makes little difference.
Ads tie revenue directly to time spent on the screen, and that is the root of all evil.
As another poster mentioned, ad revenue is often higher than what you can reasonably get with subscriptions. That’s where taxing advertising would help.