When Free Becomes Very Expensive

I remember the first time someone explained this idea to me. I sat there nodding like I already knew it, while my brain quietly whispered something like… wait, what? It hit me much later. Every time you open an app that costs nothing, you are not the customer. You are the product placed on the shelf. You are the thing being packaged, measured, tested, tracked and traded.

It feels strange because it is so normal now. You download Facebook to stay in touch. You hop onto Instagram to see what your friends are up to. You scroll TikTok for a quick laugh. You think you are choosing the platform. Meanwhile the platform is choosing you. It studies you with more focus than your favourite teacher ever did. It learns your impulses. It follows your fears. It knows your patterns better than the people who raised you.

Social media is incredibly addictive to a developing mind. A child’s brain is still learning emotional regulation. It is still building the prefrontal cortex, the part that helps with self control. It is like giving a toddler a Ferrari and hoping for the best. The younger the mind, the more dangerous the platforms become. The reward loops hit harder. The comparison traps cut deeper. The anxiety brews faster.

I look at kids scrolling for hours and I feel this knot in my stomach. You cannot blame them. They are up against billion dollar algorithms designed to pull them in. The apps are free. The cost is hidden. The cost is attention, sleep, focus, confidence and mental health. The cost is your child’s sense of self.

This is why you feel mentally tired after ten minutes on TikTok. This is why you look up and realise two hours disappeared. This is why kids struggle to sleep. This is why families sit together yet feel worlds apart. We traded real connection for digital engagement and never asked what the long term impact would be.

The truth is simple. When something is free, someone is paying. The price is usually you. The question is how long you are willing to remain the product before you take back ownership of your mind.