[panarky]

> When I see an ad, I know that the company wants me to give them my money.

Similarly, you should know that everything you see on Facebook is designed to profit from your attention. The choices they make about what ads to show and what to put in your newsfeed are not altruistic. These decisions are about what's best for Facebook, not what's best for you.

If it profits Procter & Gamble or Unilever[0] to show ads that make you feel inferior or anxious, that's what they'll do.

And if Facebook can make you feel lonely or sad so you'll spend more time on Facebook and see more ads, that's what they'll do too.

> to imply that it's just like an ad is utter horseshit

I'm not seeing a big distinction.

[0] http://www.vocativ.com/world/india/indias-5-worst-ads-skin-w...

[mkal_tsr]

So then why not do a test to see if injecting grammatical and spelling errors into a friend's post changes one's smug sense of superiority over them? I mean, sure it might be manipulative but hey, that's what ads are, right?