It just dawned on me that my likes, comments, views, and any engagement on other people's posts on social media are expensive and I shouldn't dish them out for free and willy nilly... (Let me explain)

We all know social media influencers get paid by big companies because we follow them and the companies pay to advertise on their TL. Big companies do this for profiles with huge numbers of followers. So me just following that profile means I am making the profile more valuable.

We also know that algorithms of social platforms now prioritize posts that a lot of people are engaging with. So a post that is liked by many or commented or reacted on by many will get a higher preference in what shows up in your TL. The algorithm makes sure you see that post

Basically, the more I like stuff, the more the algorithm shows that stuff to someone else, and if that someone is an "influencer" it means the more that person gets more and more valuable to advertisers.

...Also, social media platforms track my likes, and comments, and engagement so that their algorithm can show me adverts that are relevant to stuff I engage with. That means more money to them from advertisers because they guarantee that the right advert shows the right people.

...but all the meanwhile I am using my data, my wifi, my phone, my time, and my effort yet some have monetized my interactions to make money out of them.

My likes/comments are costing me my time, money, internet, and brain activity which I could have otherwise invested elsewhere

... if that was all not enough, the time one wastes scrolling through the TL, and arguing and debating with random strangers is just too much. It's very expensive I=even for one's mental health and peace of mind. These things are just too expensive man!!! Shuuuuuuu!

So I have decided not to dish out likes/comments for mahala coz it's clearly expensive.

Who's gonna pay me for my activity on social media? The big platforms already have my data, my likes and are making money from them. Advertisers are making money from it. So are influencers.

If my likes, my data, my comments are worth paying for by advertisers and make influencers get paid why should I dish them out for free?

Somebody's gotta pay me too also. lol

If you've read this thread thus far...allow me to thank you for indulging my random thoughts