Likely Normal

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: every time you open Facebook, you’re feeding a ravenous data machine that knows you better than your own mother. That innocent scroll through your feed? It’s actually a sophisticated surveillance operation where your pauses, likes, and even how long your finger hovers over a post are converted into a detailed psychological profile. Facebook doesn’t just track what you intentionally share—it analyzes the shadows of your behavior: the links you almost clicked, the videos you watched just a little too long, and the ads you glared at before scrolling past.

The platform hoovers up everything—your location history (even when you’ve turned off tracking), your facial recognition data from uploaded photos, your private messages (yes, Messenger chats are mined for keywords), and even your activity on other websites via the invisible Facebook pixel. Ever noticed how you casually mention needing new shoes in a comment, and suddenly your feed floods with sneaker ads? That’s not coincidence—it’s the sound of Facebook’s algorithms licking their lips.

And here’s the kicker: you’re doing all this labor for free. While you meticulously craft your online persona, arguing about pizza toppings and sharing baby photos, Facebook quietly packages your digital footprint into neat little consumer profiles sold to advertisers. The more you interact, the more valuable you become—not to your friends, but to the corporations who now know you’re a 32-year-old with a soft spot for organic dog treats and a bad habit of clicking on conspiracy theory videos at 1 a.m.

The worst part? There’s no opting out. Even if you quit Facebook tomorrow, your shadow profile—built from friends’ uploads, website trackers, and purchased third-party data—lives on. So the next time you see an ad that’s freakishly specific (“yoga mats for anxious cat owners who binge-watch baking shows”), remember: that’s not magic. That’s the sound of your privacy being cashed in.