The following is a logical deduction based on the business model of Meta, and how it impacts you.
Meta is worth $1.63 trillion USD. Their primary product, Instagram, is free to users. Meta achieved this valuation by selling advertising on its platforms — their business is providing quality attention to advertisers. They give users social connection (valuable in moderation), then show those users ads and charge businesses for the exposure.
Long story short: if you use Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok — you are the product.
Your time and attention is being sold to advertisers. Like all good businesses, Meta optimises its product. In their case, that means optimising how long you stay on the app.
Last year, Meta spent $57.4 billion dollars on R&D to optimise algorithms and maximise time spent on their platforms.
That is enough to buy 851 F-18 Super Hornets — just under 4× the entire RAAF fleet. All of it spent on keeping you scrolling.
Your time and attention is being taken and sold. Take some of it back.