You know the old saying: "If a product is free, then you are the product"

Answer: $26.73 per user, per month (with 250 million active users!)

Questions: 

• If Facebook doesn’t charge you to sign up or use its services, where do you think its $26+ per month per user in revenue comes from?
• What factors might explain why Meta earns so much more per user than other social media platforms?
• Do you think platforms like Facebook design their apps more for user enjoyment or for maximizing screen time?

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (Sherwood Media): 

"Mark Zuckerberg’s social media giant is a little harder to pin down, after it inconveniently decided to stop splitting out its daily active users by geography. But, based on our best estimate that it has 250 million daily active users in the US and Canada (more on this below), combined with the fact that Meta reported $20 billion in ad revenue in the US and Canada, implies that the typical Meta user is worth somewhere around 10x as much: about $26 and change."

About the Author

Dave Martin

Dave joins NGPF with 15 years of teaching experience in math and computer science. After joining the New York City Teaching Fellows program and earning a Master's degree in Education from Pace University, his teaching career has taken him to New York, New Jersey and a summer in the north of Ghana. Dave firmly believes that financial literacy is vital to creating well-rounded students that are prepared for a complex and highly competitive world. During what free time two young daughters will allow, Dave enjoys video games, Dungeons & Dragons, cooking, gardening, and taking naps.

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