Although many people hold the view that if you are not paying for it, you are

the product being

sold and it only benefits the firm or marketers. However, they are reluctant to see the other side
of this issue which will be explained with three examples. 

We live in a time that nearly everyone has problems to deal with. For stressed people, these
issues make them more nervous. In this Covid-19 period, this is so evident, since people do not
meet or conversate so much compared to one year ago. This is obvious that marketers gain when
customers’ names are written on the cup or when using social media influencers to promote a
brand or a product. However, this is a “win-to-win” strategy. This not only benefits marketers,
but also, makes customers feel happier and personalized, and makes them choose their favorite
brand which makes customers mentally satisfied among thousands of different brands.

This is not deniable that we are experiencing more customized interactions with institutions
using social media. For example, the data collected from people, doesn’t show just ads, but it
also brings communities with the same ideals. People can track and follow many movements
which they wouldn’t see without a personalized approach, and those suggestions made by social
media help them to create benefit through connecting with the people and organizations, making
the impact of any movement bigger. For example, after they visit the website about climate
change, or even about the harms of social media, Facebook, with the suggested event section,
suggests many more chances, meeting, and by these suggestions, you may enhance your network
and view within that beneficial subject. So with this, track clicking turns into a tool serving to
awareness (Mansell et al. 2015).
 
Thirdly, our discussion topic is a double-edged sword, per se; however, some things do not work
in the way mentioned. Such skepticism creates problems for non-profit organizations such as
animal shelters, Greenpeace, charity campaigns, etc. The work such companies do is based on
the amount of charity collected. Still, the proportion of the amount that people invest and the job
done is enormous, considering that organizations, for example, Greenpeace, earn little, close to
no interest. (Greenpeace International Annual Report. 2019).

To finalize, these examples help us to see that if people are not paying for a product, they are not
the product being sold. These practices help people to get rid of stress,  to get familiar with
communities which are beneficial for them and so on. 
 
 
REFERENCES 
 
Greenpeace International Annual Report, 2019. Retrieved from
https://www.greenpeace.org/static/planet4-international-stateless/2020/06/544c2eca-greenpeace-
international-annual-report-2019.pdf
Mansell, R., Hwa, P., The International Encyclopedia of Digital Communication and Society.
Oxford, UK : Wiley-Blackwell, 2015, pp. 1027-1034.