[smoldesu]

This right here is it, for the most part. I see a lot of people who lament how terrible the takeover of "big tech" is, but they still use Facebook on a regular basis and don't go out of their way to seek alternatives. It's like complaining that Kraft has taken over your local supermarket aisle while you're buying 10 boxes of name-brand mac and cheese.

[shrimpx]

Not really. There's a gradient of entrenchment. Your example doesn't work at all if we're talking about deeply-entrenched/natural-monopoly products like electricity or internet access instead of a trivially-switchable product like a brand of mac & cheese or ranch dressing.

The question is where does Facebook fall on that gradient? It's certainly not on the "product on the supermarket shelf" end. It's closer to the middle somewhere.

I gave up Facebook in 2013 and more or less lost any semblance of an ongoing connection to a dozen childhood friends from my home country. Many people aren't willing to give up that type of thing. This isn't whatsoever like swappable supermarket products.

[11thEarlOfMar]

Well, that Mac & Cheese is free cuz you're giving them your phone number so they can call you and sell you a gym membership.